Kyuutsuki no Uzumaki
by AJ Katon
Summary: The Shinobi continent has been a world all on its own for many centuries. Isolated and embroiled in their personal conflicts, the Shinobi inhabitants have forgotten the other world so close to them. Naruto Uzumaki learns that he is a part of that world and soon he will have to dive into it once more as he begins to remember who he truly is and as the two worlds begin to collide.
1. Awaken Satsujin Uzumaki I

Kyuutsuki No Uzumaki

By

AJ Katon

Disclaimer: I do not own the Nasu-verse or Naruto seeing as they belong to their respective owners. I do own the various OC's that may be introduced later on.

Summary: The Shinobi continent has been a world all on its own for many centuries. Isolated and embroiled in their personal conflicts, the Shinobi inhabitants have forgotten the other world so close to them.

A dark world of heightened dangers and amazing wonders. Where Nature is alive and the truth of the World is so much more than they could possibly imagine.

However on the night of the Forbidden Scroll incident, Naruto Uzumaki learns that he is a part of that world. And soon he will have to dive into it once more as he begins to remember who he truly is and as the two worlds begin to come back together.

Arc 1: Maelstrom Konoha

Chapter 1: Awaken Satsujin Uzumaki I

_Cheep. Cheep._

_Usually I'd be annoyed by the sound of Cicadas. Hearing them at night can get annoying but right now it felt right._

_I was lying on my back in the courtyard. The feel of the soft green grass tickled my back. The warm sun of the summer afternoon was above me, working on my tan. Not that I really needed one anyway. I like to think it was a side effect of my good complexion. _

_It was good to be outdoors and relaxing again. When I didn't have free time it was non-stop training. I know that **n***-sensei wanted me to be strong—heck I wanted to be strong—but that didn't mean I didn't want to have fun or stretch my legs. Plus there was so much going on in the city that I couldn't wait to go back out and explore._

_But I did wonder what was going on though. _

_K***** -sensei did say that there was something he wanted to discuss with me but before that I had to help clean the outside and keep the others company. Not that I had a problem with it but I was still curious._

_I wonder if that other girl was still here. She looked like she could use someone to play with and having an extra person._

_**i**-chan could use more friends..._

_**ru**._

_"Oi! Fishcake! Come on, we gotta go rescue the Princess!"_

_N*r*o._

_I scowled as I sat up and turned to look at **i**. "For the last time, my—" _

_*a**to!_

"—_name is not Fishcake."_

_Naruto!_

"_It's—"_

NARUTO!

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"Mwah!? I shot to my feet with a pencil clenched in my hand. I don't know who the dead man was but when I get ahold of him, I'l—

My brain managed to come back to life in just a few seconds. I blinked and remembered where I was.

"Dammit."

_THWACK._

A piece of chalk hit me right on my goggles. It was hard enough to make me fall back on my chair.

Ouch.

"Language, Naruto." The person who threw the chalk shouted at me. Around him I could hear the sound of laughter that could only sound mocking. I guess it figures since I was just called out and put down in front of the rest of the class.

I'll have to fix that later.

Looking up, I met the annoyed stare of my **Chūnin-Sensei** (_Journeyman Ninja Teacher_), Iruka Umino. We were about the same height with him being brown skinned with dark brown hair and a scar across his nose. He had on a green vest over a blue shirt and pants with a couple of pouches used for Kunai and other stuff.

Next to him was another Chūnin-sensei with white hair named Mizuki. The less said about him the better.

"And I expect to _not_ see you napping again during class."

"But what about Shikamaru?" I complained d tugging at my goggles. Why should the lazy bum get special treatment?

_THWACK._

Oh. Never mind then.

"Mnh. Troublesome." The black haired boy grumbled as he was hit too. "Dangit, Naruto."

"Really," Iruka grumbled as he rubbed his face with his non-chalk throwing hand, "To think that there would be such lazy students today. I'm trying to import some important knowledge onto all of you so shape up and stay awake. This stuff will be useful not only in real life but for the upcoming **Genin** (_Junior Ninja)_ Exam. I'm expecting many of you to pass."

"Hai, sensei!" Everyone else replied.

"Especially those of you that are currently near the bottom of the class." He narrowed his eyes on a select few of us, me included.

"Yeah, Naruto. We all don't want to end up as repeaters." Someone called out. The class erupted in laughter at my expense.

"Wanna say that to my face, asshole?!" I shouted moving so that I was standing on the desk. No one said anything.

"That's what I thought."

_THWACK._

And I get another chalk for my troubles. And some snickering.

Deciding that while I was made fun of but still put my own brand of fear in them, I sat back down to watch as Iruka-sensei went back to the lesson. He was right though. I did need to get ready for the big exam.

The Genin Exam is the big test where all the Academy Students were tested to see if they could become Shinobi, the badass fighters and soldiers of **Konohagakure no Sato** (_Village Hidden in the Leaves_). For the last five years, me and the rest have gone through the ringer learning all about what makes a Shinobi strong along with a bunch of other stuff.

Mostly the etiquette stuff, history, and that guideline book.

Psh. Me? Using etiquette?

Hahaha.

Anyway about the Exam itself.

After going through five years worth of kunai and shuriken throwing, stealth training, jutsu theory and practice, and sparring, we have the chance to get tested on those skills and the basic three Ninjutsu in order to pass.

The basic three are **Henge** (_Transformation_), **Kawamiri** (_Substitution_), and **Bunshin** (_Clone_).

The **Henge** and **Kawamiri** are pretty cool. Changing your form to something or someone else and using a log to shield you from getting stabbed. Not bad to start of with.

The **Bunshin**…was not as good as the other two. It's given me a lot of trouble since it needed chakra control and just a bit of chakra to use. I unfortunately have too much chakra coursing through my veins and not enough control to make it work.

At the moment anyway.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_Bring. Bring._

"Well that's it for today. I'll see you all bright and early for the Genin Exam. Do what you can today, get a good night's sleep, and be ready to show the best of your abilities." Iruka shouted over the rush of students leaving out of the classroom. I'm not sure most of them heard him.

As for me, I decided to take the scenic route to leave the Academy. The good old window leading outside of the first floor classroom.

Finally class was over for today. Now I can get back to doing something worthwhile. It was time to get some training in.

Outside I jumped onto the ledge of a short building that was close by. The jump was pretty high considering the place was the same size as the Academy—about six, maybe seven floors high. It's a good thing for all that practice since my legs to make the leap and land comfortably onto the roof.

The added affect of having chakra pumping through my legs just makes it easier and sets me up for the next jump.

After going through an entire block of houses with just three jumps—oh yeah, I'm just that good. I'm not even breaking a sweat—I found my special spot. It was a tiny place that was a little ways into the forest surrounding the village. A small stream from a nearby waterfall and waterhole could be seen just a few feet away. I think some girls from the village used it as a swimming pool and a stream that flowed down a rocky quarry. There were no girls here today so I wouldn't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping.

Not that I would eavesdrop on those girls either.

In the grassy area away from the stream were a couple of trees broken down to make training stumps.

Training stumps that little red spots decorated on them.

Time to get to work.

As I went through some body stretches, I thought about this place again. I thought about the village that the Academy says I have to bring glory and honor to.

And apparently give my life for.

Konohagakure no Sato. The place said to be the strongest amongst the Hidden Villages. The village that had four of the strongest Shinobi to ever come out in maybe a hundred years.

And the place where I've had to live and train in for the last five years.

You hear a lot of things about ninja villages. Being who they are, Shinobi could be the greatest people that ever lived with hearts of gold as they saved many lives. Then they could be the coldest of murderers that kill anyone who gets in there way.

Since they're so strong and have those reputations, I can see why ordinary people would want to live close to them. Free Protection.

Despite the threat of death that comes with it, they can freely call this place their home.

I can't. I would never call this place home.

A home is where there's a Mom and Dad to see you off to school with a good breakfast and encouraging words. It's a place where the people you meet on the street will stop and wave at you with a smile.

And when you come home, they're waiting to see you after a long day at the Academy and welcome you back.

I had that back at the Fire Capitol. Here was something completely different.

For the last few years, I've only gotten only a small bit of basic human courtesy from people that I could count on one hand. I can probably add a couple of more to the list but I'm not really sure they would count as friends.

Everyone else was just happy to hand out a scowl. Some choice words spread in whispers or yelled in my face.

Or a rock thrown at me. That usually ended in a fight and me getting in trouble at times.

A couple of places wouldn't allow me to get in even when I was trying to buy some food.*** **When that happened it would require a bit of Shinobi tactics to get pass it and get what I wanted.

And there were _those_ nights…This place definitely is not what it advertises but what the general rumors say. They do put up good acts for the outside, though.

Well I'd like to say that stuff doesn't get to me that much. If it did, I probably wouldn't still be here.

But I stick around and bear it. I also take my usual spots of revenge against them. A little "tactics" here, a brawl there and maybe a wide prank and bam. They back off. They're not that strong if you push back. Even if it got me in a spot of trouble, that didn't matter.

I wasn't going to let them push me around and not expect a wonderful gift in return.

But still there were times where I would've liked to have done _more_ to get my point across…

I shook my head to clear those thought away. They came up from time to time but they wouldn't do me any good at this point.

Shrugging off the top of my orange and black tracksuit, which left me in a mesh shirt, I went over to the training stumps and got to work. Cracking back a fist, I let it fly in a right straight.

_Crack._

Hehe. Nothing more satisfying than seeing the fruits of your own training right in front of you.

As I continued, my thoughts went to the other things.

_Crack._

The academy itself…kinda sucked. I'm not just saying that because I don't like sitting behind a desk all day and reading stuff out a book over and over until I get it memorized. I'm saying that because when it came to the ninja training, to me it was…not that good.

_Crack. Crack._

While Iruka was a quality teacher, being strict or kind when it was needed, it just feels like it was not enough. The Instructors tell us to learn from the book when some can't afford it. Then they show us something—a technique or theories that are mentioned in that annoying book— and expect us to pick up the rest and train our butts off to make it passable.

They never really give that extra push to make us really know these Jutsu.

Like—off the top of my head—throwing Kunai at us to make us get the timing right for the Kawamiri. Or have us walk around to maintain the Henge and act like another person to make sure we are believable.

Just like I had to do when I needed some things for the house.

_Crack. Crack._

_Crack._

_Crack._

Plus they didn't count stealth as a grade all its own. I know that knowing Jutsu and being fit to fight was important for survival but shouldn't being able to hide in plain sight or in the shadows be valued the same? Actually even more considering the job those ANBU have to do?

Or what about seduction? I'm pretty sure there were things written about a lord getting seduced by a beautiful woman only to end up dead or how a woman was conned out her savings by some smooth talker.

While not good things to practice the fact that Shinobi have done and will continue to do that stuff should mean something. Shouldn't we know how to be able to see when people are trying to seduce us just to kill us or worse?

_Crack. Crack. Crack._

We are seriously missing some classes the fact that we're all teens, we should really learn this stuff considering the fact that they raised the Genin age to sixteen. It was like they were sending us off half-cocked and expected us to do fine.

There was belief in one's abilities and then there was just throwing them off a cliff into a dark ocean.

_Sigh._

I stopped to lay a hand on the stump. Even now, despite all the stuff I do know it doesn't make up for what I don't know. I have to make up for it so that I can survive. So that I won't come so close to death again.

I don't know why but when I was nine, I was in an accident. It could've been a lot of things like a bandit attack, a Shinobi attack, or just a natural disaster. But whatever it was I woke up from it in a hospital in the Fire Capitol with a large scar on my chest and a large gap in my memories.

My family had been there to see me get better. I've never seen Kaa-san cry so much. At least I think I've never seen it.

That was another problem. Some of my memories had been lost when I went under. Large chunks of it from up until I was six and living with the Arima's—a branch family that worked alongside the Tohno clan, a rich clan housed in the Fire Capitol. Then a few more before I hit nine and had the accident. However I felt there was something about me that was different from other people.

I felt it whenever I walked amongst a crowd and somehow I knew to blend into it so no one would find me. I knew the right way to hold a knife and which place would be the best for a quick kill.

With all this happening, Kaa-san finally decided to tell me the truth.

She told me that that I was a Shinobi. That despite being young, I was capable of using stealth to sneak around outdoors under the cover of trees or indoors in the shadows of every nook and cranny I could find. That I knew Taijutsu because by the age of seven I was trading blows with someone in a spar. Then later I used those skills to take someone down.

And most importantly, how to kill.

I couldn't recall who the person that taught me was though.

I was…shocked to say the least. But that didn't compare to when she finished telling me what she knew of my short ninja career, I was bombarded with images. Short memories that highlighted a few kills I had to make.

Yeah, if there was one thing I won't be forgetting, it's the number of people I've had to kill. I only remember the killings though, not the reasons behind them. I've even used a Jutsu or two to help with this.

I was frozen. I was so amazed and horrified that I was capable of so many things. And despite all that, I was so close to joining all of those people in death. Kaa-san had held me close and cried for a long time.

With all this knowledge I decided to put it to good use and train with them. I was able to remember the Henge and Kawamiri quite easily due to a quick flash of past experience. It was when I was eleven that I found out that I was also good at Fūinjutsu.

But despite all these skills, I had to keep them secret.

_Especially the Fūinjutsu. _I thought as I touched my face. I walked over to the stream to splash some water on my face. I needed to cool off.

When the last of the sweat and cool water finally left my eyes, I looked at my reflection.

It was the same one I woke up except for a few changes. My face wasn't as chubby as it used to be but the tan I had was proof that I liked to move around outside. Same blue eyes and yellow hair as usual, but I'm thinking about getting it cut. I can deal with the spikiness but having hair that went down to my shoulders is starting to make me look like a girl.

I looked to the six whisker marks on me cheeks and sighed.

Like I needed a reminder of _that_ for as long as I lived.

Staring at my reflection a bit longer, I make a decision. I wasn't going to use it. I just wanted to see. To be reminded.

Taking a moment to close my eyes and move my chakra around, I stopped a flow that went to my eyes. Well it was more like the seal that was drawn on them.

It was a special seal only meant for one purpose.

To not make me see…them.

Standing up, I turned around and saw it.

It was a line. A crack that extended from the middle of the tree stump to the upper right side. A ignorable crack that wouldn't get anyone's attention.

Except that except for me, no one else can see it. Nobody could see them.

The cracks that were on the posts. On the trees. On the rocks and walls and homes. On the very ground that we all walked on everyday.

Not even the ones on…the people themselves.

The lines that hold everything together. The glue that keeps it from falling apart. They're the single greatest flaw in the whole world and make the world so fragile. So easily breakable.

And it's all thanks to my eyes that I am the only one that could. My **Chokushi no Magan** (_Mystic Eyes of Death Perception_).

Soon I began to feel sick. Good I still didn't like them.

Recharging the seal, I saw the cracks disappear, as if it was never there to begin with. As it does its purpose, I know the seal fades so that no one could see it in effect. A little feature I managed to add with a lot of help.

But no matter how much I don't want this…ability, it was mine to carry. For whatever reason why, it was mine.

"…Our full abilities, huh?" I remembered Iruka-sensei say back at the Academy. Sorry but this one is going to shown to anyone. Ever.

"_But you know Naruto, despite how rare you're gift is, it still is something that you were meant to have. God wouldn't have given you those eyes without a good reason. I think there will come a time when you really need them._

_So don't you ever live in denial of them and when the time comes and you have to use them, let be without regrets, okay?"_

I couldn't stop the smile as it began to grow on my face.

Well things weren't all that bad after I woke up. I met many people that made the situation better, like the Arimas who provided a home for two years. I even made a few friends my age back when I went to a civilian school for a time.

There were rough spots here and there but they were still the best years of my life.

Then there was her. Aoko-Sensei.

_She helped me figure out many things. Helped me solve my sight problem and answer a few questions I had._ I thought placing my hand back on my face.

I still had many more after them but at least…I was content. I had an answer for who I wanted to be.

I wanted be a strong Shinobi. Someone that was powerful and had the lowest amounts of regrets for what he does. And most of all, I wanted to be able to protect those I hold close.

My eyes soon darkened.

Then I came to Konoha. As good as I was, I wasn't completely ready. I needed more training and for that I needed to go to the Shinobi Academy. So when a Konoha Shinobi came to offer me training, I took it and was off to Konoha.

The village leader, The **Sandaime Hokage** (_Third Fire Shadow_) or **Hokage-jiji** (_Old Man/Grandpa Hokage_) as I like to call him, who apparently had been the Dad of the guy who brought me to Konoha, had been kind to me and helped out a lot during my first year here. He managed to get me the house all for myself and got me into the Academy.

And it's thanks to him letting me in, for trusting me really. The young suspicious kid that I was with little to no background and so many secrets behind me, that I was able to get here. Back then, I didn't have any idea how to thank him for all he's done.

Then I entered the Academy. The place where I would begin my idea and follow through with it. And it's the greatest idea I've ever had.

"Well next to the cherry bomb incident about a year ago." I chuckled remembering that one. Those poor fools in the bathroom.

No wait, the greatest one had to be the one I recently pulled. That will definitely make people remember my name as the greatest prankster Konoha had ever seen.

The painting of the Hokage faces up on the Kage Mountain.

Ah, it still felt like it was only yesterday when I dared to do the impossible…

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback…**_

_**One day ago…**_

_It was the dawn of another early morning for Konoha._

_The golden sun rising from the east was imparting its warm spring rays helped breathe life into the sleepy village and get those that were a little lazy—or extra lazy if you count the Nara, the sun was forever their enemy—or quickly giving those who had the most stamina that early morning boost to start their next day._

_And if they happened to be Shinobi, there was a good chance they were already awake due to a night-shift so they could only see the infernal big ball of heat as another annoyance before going back to work._

_Yes. All was well and calm in this humble vill—_

_"Oh my god! There's blood going down the Sandaime's nose!" A random villager shouted while pointing as something far in the distance._

…_Well except for that little problem, there was nothing els—_

_"And there are swirl marks and a goofy smile on the Shodai!" screamed another villager._

_All right so there was a bit of a crisis going on but it wasn't that ba—_

_"And the Yondaime looks like a drag queen!"_

…_Wait what?_

_At the mountains that could easily be seen from the village's front entrance gates, loomed a stone monument that was considered the greatest pride that Konoha had to offer. It was a simple of the greatest people that had ever come from the village, whose amazing deeds and amazing sacrifices helped the people of their home stay alive for so long and prosper as the strongest of the Shinobi villages._

_The Kage Mountain._

_There resides the stone heads of the four Hokages that have currently taken the hat and led the village through war and peace._

_The Shodaime: Hashirama Senju. Wood-style ninjutsu user and one of the most powerful men in history. The Nidame: Tobirama Senju. Water-style ninjutsu user and previous owner of the lightning element sword. The Sandaime: Hiruzen Sarutobi. The only living and current Hokage. Hailed as a genius in many forms of ninjutsu and trainer of Sannin Trio, another group of great ninja of Kononha._

_And finally the Yondaime: Minato Namikaze. The former Hokage who gave his life to save the village from the Kyuubi no Yoko and had led Konoha through the 3rd Shinobi War._

_Also known as the Yellow Flash. Totally not a stripper name. All of them great men that were worthy of nothing more than respect and fear from all._

_And now they were all sporting graffiti._

_As previously pointed out, Hashirama had strange swirl marks on his cheeks and his mouth had been painted over to show a smile that was devoid of intelligence and a couple of teeth. Tobirama had a big bushy ridiculous eyebrows set over his eyes and a full on smile showing his teeth. Drawn a couple of meters under him was a crudely drawn hand giving a thumbs up._

_Many people shuddered in dread and disgust as those attributes reminding them of a certain two people. Hiruzen had two long streams of red paint going down his nose and what could only be described as a leer on the rest of his face. A few quiet chuckles were given out at that. That one was a little more truthful than the others._

_But the most appalling and cringe inducing had to be Yondaime. True to the one who shouted earlier, the fabled blond Kage could be described as a drag queen. Or at least as close as a drag queen he could be. With a twin blushes on his cheeks, ruby red lipstick, and what could be construed as a feminine sultry look on his face, that was what many assumed the person who did this was going for despite the lack of good materials on hand._

_Many were shocked. Many were disgusted. Many were very disturbed by the fact that some of the women—and some secret guys—were giving an appraising eye to the Yondaime._

_A strange time for Konoha indeed._

_"Hey look! Someone's at the top of the mountain!" shouted a young woman while pointing at the mentioned suspect of the…travesty. Many groups of ninja and a couple of civilians ran to get a closer look and figure out who would do such a thing to their mountain. When a small group made it to building that was close enough to mountain to give them a clear visual, they groaned in anger and annoyance when they saw who would have such audacity._

_However before they could get close enough, the mysterious prankster darted off the Kage Mountaintop, most likely heading towards the forest behind the mountain._

"_Do not let that bastard get away! He must be captured for the honor of our Kage and Konoha!" shouted one of the ninja who had shown up, a Chunin most likely, as he pointed towards the escaping fugitive._

_He then took off with a few other Chunin, Genin, and two squads of ANBU trailing behind him._

_And thus began the great chase scene of seven Chunin, five Genin, and eight ANBU off to pursue Justice. Justice in the name of their tarnished pride and the chance to gain proper retribution from the whelp that would have the stones to do deface their monument._

_In broad daylight no less!_

_Pity that it didn't pan out that way. And to this day, no one knew who it was that managed to score such a major blow to their pride._

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback over…**_

"Hahahaha. That was great. And then there were those guys that chased me." I laughed to myself as I remembered the Shinobi that tried to get me for my work. So many dog piles into garbage cans.

So many pies to face. So much fun.

Though I did regret that one guy that wound up in that apartment of that woman in that brown coat and chainmail top.

Ugh. I can still hear that laughter. The laughter of the insane. Poor bastard.

Well anyway. Despite that setback of one casualty, it was still a good prank.

And right now my next best idea was this: what better way to repay the Hokage-jiji and the others for the last few years? For helping me get where I am today? For getting my big plan this far?

By becoming a badass Ninja and helping him protect his home, of course!

It's foolproof! I get what I want and he gets something he needs.

And tomorrow the next step was about to happen.

I turned my head to stare up to the faces of the 4 Hokages, the strongest ninja the Leaf ever had etched into the mountain overlooking the village.

I stop at the Yondaime.

Around the time I was born, the Yondaime had saved the village by defeating the _Kyūbi no Yōko_ (**Nine-tailed Demon Fox)**: the strongest Bijū ever known. The books say that he probably used a forbidden technique to do so and that cost him his life. I even heard that he was just a regular orphan with no Shinobi clan in his name.

For a guy with no background to become one of the strongest people in Konoha with just his wits and some Fūinjutsu.

"...Defeated the Kyūbi, eh?"

I clenched my fist thinking about that line. Because to me, those words, the whole report or book they wrote, was wrong.

The Yondaime didn't kill the Kyūbi.

He couldn't kill it.

I should know. Because I have the damn thing sealed inside my gut.I was the so called Kyūbi Jinchūriki. Just another one in a total of nine people who have giant Chakra monsters in our guts. And I did not like it.

_**And it has been to my displeasure to be here as well, Ningen (**__Human__**)…**_

I ignore the voice. I have enough bad thoughts in my head without thinking about it…

No one can kill the Kyūbi. Hell even when I was told the truth I really wanted to know: can a human destroy a gigantic demonic chakra monster?

I doubted it unless that had something really crazy up their sleeve. For some reason, I'm pretty sure Sensei would be able to defeat it for a time maybe but outright killing it, I don't think so. She was mysterious like that.

But still the Yondaime was able to defeat it with Fūinjutsu, since the tattoo on my stomach couldn't be anything else, and died doing it.

Minato Namikaze. The man who saved a whole village, me included, by sealing a powerful monster inside me. And by doing so, a lot of things that I can't remember happened and now I live in a place where the people would rather see me dead.

I slapped my face a couple of times. This was not the time to get all pessimistic. I had better things to think about and a test to complete.

Now it was time to get that Busnhin fixed. And then another Jutsu I've been itching to fix.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

**Konohagakure no Sato: Shinboi Academy…**

**The next day…**

"Naruto...You pass!"

Ha! I knew I'd get it this time.

You see, as I said earlier I couldn't do the **Bunshin** like everyone else. Right now, I can't get it squared down to at least three of them. My control isn't that good…and I may have fudged it a bit because I got excited but the point is I can't do it on a small scale.

But when I do it in bulk, well, hehe, there were no problems.

Not three clones. Not five. Not even ten. But twenty. Twenty **Bunshins.*** All of them in epic poses.

Why were they posing? Just because.

"Hey! Hey! Not bad, Naruto!"

I looked up to see Mizuki-sensei, smiling at me. Despite how girly he looks, he sure can play the nice guy very well. Probably one of his better traits as a Shinobi shining through.

Other than that I wasn't sure if he was that good. I've outrun many a Chunin before so I would know.

Mizuki and Iruka-sensei were sitting in front of me with a large row of Konoha **Hitae tai** (_Headbands) _next to them. I smiled the first time I saw them right in front of me. Metal plates that were just a little longer than a kunai with blue cloths stitched onto them so that we could wrap them anywhere on our bodies.

They were the badges that told everyone that you were a Shinobi of Konoha. But they were kinda dumb when you thought about it.

The whole other people seeing what ninja village you work for thing confused me a lot. Wasn't the whole point of being a ninja not being seen or identified by people who shouldn't know who you are? The civilians in the village was really pushing it since they could leave and tell people outside the village how many people who wore the headband and not.

Maybe there's a mind wiping trick for anyone that decides to move?

Well while I do have the headband now, I'll probably keep it in my pocket when I finally get work outside the village. While inside…meh, I'll wear it.

"Well I'd say that Naruto pretty much has this in the bag, Iruka." Mizuki-sensei said to Iruka-sensei as they assessed my skills. "He's done pretty well on the weapons and is one of our best in stealth. His Taijutsu is one of the few best we've seen out of all the Genin, and he did the basic three right on the dot.

He's come pretty far hasn't he?" Mizuki-sensei explained, actually complimenting my skills.

I turned to look at Iruka-sensei.

"...Well what you said is true. Besides a few bad marks on his record like those numerous disturbances he's had with the staff and other students, and those pranks around the village—"

"Those were never proven." I retorted.

"Just because we couldn't find any evidence on you, doesn't honestly mean that you didn't do it. Don't insult the intelligence of Chunin and higher up Shinobi Naruto." He gave me a dry look as he summed up his feelings on the matter.

Hey it wasn't my fault that those people started the problem. I just retaliated. Sometimes with great force but still it was repayment for insults and problems given. I still don't get how Iruka-sensei could know that it was me or why he didn't report me. You know besides the fact that I got rid of the evidence.

"Naruto is one of the better qualifiers for Genin..." Iruka-sensei stopped to rub his pineapple shaped hair with a sigh.

He then turned to look at me. Now I'm not much of a face reader or whatever it's called but on Iruka-sensei I could see that there was something he was still hesitant on.

After...I don't know how long minutes maybe, of silence, Iruka-sensei let out a groan.

"I still have reservations but you did pass Naruto. There are still subjects that you're not as great in like your history and etiquette but that can be fixed and improved over time. However besides all that you've definitely got what it takes. You're probably one of the few who does."

Iruka then smiled as he took one of the headbands from the table and tossed it to me. I caught it and just took a moment to admire it.

My proof.

"HAHAHA! YES! IN YOUR FACE, NON-BELIEVERS!" I shouted with a bit of a jump. Gotta play it right.

"Congratulations Naruto, I hereby qualify you as a Genin of Konoha. Be sure to represent Konoha with pride. Also be sure to report here within a week for your team evaluations."

"Sure thing, Sensei. Wanna have a bowl of ramen to celebrate later?"

"Another time. I still have some papers to grade along with other things. But still congratulations on making it this far."

With a nod, I walked out of the room. I got looks of annoyance and a few people saying "I got lucky" when they saw the headband in my hands. I got congratulations from only three people. I didn't mind it that much.

When the Academy was over, I stopped at the door leading outside where there were parents showering their kids with praise or consoling them with promises of retries. Seeing it, I felt an old ache in my chest but I pushed it away.

Out there were people who would be glad to see me failing.

I needed to do something other than what I was originally going to do. I so wanted to jump and scream my head off. I wanted to shout with triumph from the Hokage Mountain. I wanted to give the closest girl a full blown kiss on the mouth.

But for this moment, I had to do something better in mind. Something that would send a message to all the non-believers.

A few moments later it came to me. Tying my headband tightly on my forehead, I opened the door. Many turned to look at me and immediately I could see the anger and confusion on their faces. They really didn't try to hide it.

Seeing this I walked out the door and through the crowd. They didn't make any moves to stop me. They just moved their kids out of the way, whispering words meant to hurt me.

Words like "abomination", "demon brat", and "monster". Even hearing this I still moved on ahead, leaving them with their own celebrations damaged just by walking by. I felt a bit vindicated by it but…you know what, never mind them. Right now was my moment.

My day.

And there were people that I wanted to celebrate with.

**~KYUUTSUKI~**

"HAHAHAHA! Congratulations Naruto, my boy!" an older guy shouted as he passed me a bowl of ramen noodles while laughing.

This man was Ichiraku Teuchi.

I don't know how old he is but I could tell from the wrinkles on his tan face and the grayish black hair that he was far from hitting Hokage-Jiji's age but he was approaching it. He was wearing a white chef's outfit that looked a lot like a kimono along with a small hat on his head. He was the owner and proud cook of Ichiraku Ramen.

Funny thing: his eyes are always squinted like a fox's. Always.

It's a small white and red restaurant with a large round sign on the front that said Ichiraku. This place sells at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and was my all time favorite place to eat. Trust me, once you've had the Miso and Chicken ramen, there's no other place you'd want to eat.

Teuchi-jisan and his daughter, Ayame, were a part of the few people that I liked and like me in Konoha. They invited me for a bowl when I was hungry and was turned away from one of the grocery shops. I'm pretty sure that they knew about my condition and yet they still made the effort to approach me and offer me kindness.

Just that little try was enough to peak my interest and I, for the first time since I got to Konoha, tasted a nice cooked meal.

That was five years ago. And now I'm always here ready to pay for a bowl.

"Sorry that Tokie-san and Ayame couldn't be here today but you know how school is. I'll be sure to tell them about your graduation for you though." He said with a smile that said he was proud of me.

...I'm very glad I found this place when I did.

"Heh. Thanks Teuchi-oji. I'm just glad that I passed." I replied rubbing the back of my head. Man this was just too nice.

"Hmph, it's about time you showed me that the training I gave ya amounted to something brat. After the last two failures, I wasn't holding out that much hope."

And just like that my good mood is gone. Dammit.

"Screw you Sougen-Jiji. I told you that those first two times were flukes and I would get it soon. And now look, third times the charm and I'm a ninja." I replied, turning to look at the old man.

He definitely looked the part.

While his face still looked kinda young, there were still wrinkles forming along with how white his pulled back hair was starting to look. Even those crazy long whiskers he called a mustache was white. His dark blue eyes still had that mad doctor look from the first time I met him.

I wonder if he has some large glasses hidden away somewhere.

This old guy was Sougen Jinan.

Although he looks like a mad scientist, he's actually a doctor that works at part-time at the General Hospital and worked in herbal remedies in the district my house is close to. Though no one would guess that since he always wears a kimono and never a doctor's uniform.

He's also the one who taught me my Taijutsu.* It was from an old scroll that he apparently learned from when he was much younger. I wonder if he ever had to use it on anyone. So although he's a doctor, he was still an alright person. A lot better than a lot people in Konoha anyway.

Not that the bastard will ever know that.

"Hmph, your lucky there is a third time. But I guess it's better than nothing. Though I do hope that you at least did better than the rest when it came to fighting. I didn't waste my time training you for nothing."

He stopped to slurp some of his mushroom ramen before he smirked at me.

"Especially given how bad you were when I first trained you."

"Oi! Of course I kicked as-"

"Naruto..." Teuchi-jiji gives me that eye. It was weird to see what his eye color looked like since he mostly kept his eyes closed to small slits like I usually did.

But whenever he opens that eye and gives that look, I know it meant serious business.

I chuckled nervously and put my hand behind my head. "Ah sorry, Teuchi-jiji."

Man why did old people have the ability to make others feel bad with just a look? If it's not them its women...

"I mean, of course I kicked their butts. The only one I had problems with was Sasuke, Kiba, and Setsuna when her class was brought in to spar with outs, and Shino but I'll get better. I always do."

"Good. That time you came in with a broken tooth was embarrassing and horrible to look at. I don't even deal with teeth so why you came to me is a mystery."

"Urk." He just had to bring that up didn't he? I was young, dammit! And it was just one screw-up! The tooth grew back anyway!

"Plus at least now, I won't be bothered as much to look you over for anymore bruises from your beat downs now. You're going to have to learn to take better care of yourself. That and the less I have to see your flabby boy body the better."

"Hey!" Now I know he was full of crap. "My body isn't flabby at all! Tokie and Ayame said so!"

...

Oh crap. What did I just say?

"And why would Ayame know how your body looked Naruto...?"

Oh crap that look is back. And when did Teuchi-jiji get that butcher knife?

"Uh..."

Okay Naruto think carefully. You don't wanna die, right? Right. So the best way out of this was to act casual and give them a good reason why both of their daughters would see me without a shirt. Wait why didn't Sougen-jiji say anything? Was he just waiting to hear an explanation or was he just enjoying me squirm?

Bastard.

"Well...this one time, I went to visit Ayame at her school but see I had just finished this really intense training to get my Chakra under control.

You know that right? That I have too much Chakra and it messes me up sometimes right?"

He nodded but didn't put down the knife. Okay now what...

"Well I put too much effort into it and got really tired from some reason. I think it's because I used too much or all of my chakra so I kinda crashed to the ground as soon as I saw her. When I came to, she was helping me onto the couch at my house-"

"And when did this happen?" Teuchi-jiji asked, slowly lowering the huge knife. Thank Kami.

"Bout a year ago." I turned away hoping that he wouldn't see my face.

Just remembering that day…

"It was...kinda weird waking up to find her helping me with my shirt off. And kinda...scary.

...You won't tell her I said anything about it will you? If she knows that you know, she'll be embarrassing me forever and right here at the shop. Please. Please don't tell her."

I'm being honest right now. I was lucky that she didn't say anything around Teuchi-jiji but I knew she wanted to tease me about it. All girls want to tease people.

Those girls back at the Academy prove it!

Old man Ichiraku gave me that eye for another minute before it finally closed and the feeling of death finally went away.

I sighed in relief.

Old people could be really scary when they wanted to. Wait, why was Sougen-jiji just laughing at me? Shouldn't he be concerned for his daughter?

...Not that I would do anything bad to Tokie-chan.

He stopped his creepy hyena laugh and saw that I was looking at him. He raised a brow at me but said nothing.

"Aren't you gonna ask me when Tokie-chan saw me with my shirt off?"

"Bah. I already knew about that lad."

I flinched. He already knew?! Oh crap!

"I was there when it happened after all."

...Gah! Y-you sick bastard!

Perverted Old Bastard!

"It was the day when you got so horribly defeated by that Uchiha boy that Tokie herself asked me to take care of you. That of course meant treating the multiple bruises on your face and your chest.

What did you think I meant boy?"

...F&%k you Old man.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

Well this has been a great day for me. I can't wait to see Tokie and Ayame-nechan and see them congratulate me as well.

Hehehe.

As I walked home, I wondered something.

Back in the Academy—that's totally behind me now—there was a lot of talk about Konoha nins favoring teamwork amongst its greatest strengths. So that means that come next week, I'll be hanging out with three people for a good long while.

Whoever it is I just hope it's not someone who hates me like—

"Hey Naruto!"

I turned back and raised a brow at who called me, "Mizuki-sensei?"

He looked at me with a smile. "I wanted to tell ya congratulations for passing. I had a feeling you'd pass. Oh and don't be disheartened about Iruka. Scar-face may be tough on you kids but he does want what's best for you. He feels he has to be especially tough on you since he feels you're the same as him."

"The same?" What's he talking about?

"Yeah. You know that he knows that you pulled those pranks last year and a few days ago right?"

Yeah, and I still don't know how he found out. I'm sure I covered all my tracks and everything.

"Well that was a lot like Iruka used to be. He was a big time prankster when he was about your age. Though he did caught more he still sees your situation as the same since well...Iruka had to grow up an orphan as well."

...Huh. Iruka-sensei... I never would have guessed...

Mizuki-sensei then smiled again and patted my shoulder. "But there's not much to worry about now is there. From this day forward, you, me, and Iruka are all comrades for the same village, right?"

"...Yep. We sure are." Though I won't hold my breath when it comes to you.

"You know Naruto," Mizuki-sensei suddenly said, "There's something else that I wanted to talk to you about If you're interested that is…"

Trying to bait me, huh? Like that hasn't happened before. But still it might be interesting. "What's up, Sensei?"

"Well there is something...else about the graduation exam. I mean, you passed and everything which is great! But what if I told you that you could gain a little more...credit for when you want to go higher in rank?"

Mizuki whispered, as low as a bug.

Ah, tempting me with a chance of faster promotion. I have made it known that I want to be a strong Shinobi so someone like Mizuki would think that translated to I want to be Jounin or something.

"What's it about?"

"Well when it comes to certain candidates, we have what you may call, Black Ops tests. You see while the Big Three Jutsus in the Academy are important to be considered Genin, there are still students who bring a few things that are beyond Genin rank. Not anything jutsu based, anyway. And when we find them, it's usual to offer a little extra work to see if they want to rise higher in the ranks.

It doesn't happen often so we really need to keep our eyes open. We had a few that came close but one of them that actually made the cut…was you."

…Wow. He is good. A believable story that someone that didn't study how the system worked would go for. Though I do wonder if there is such a test.

Okay. He's got me. I want to know where this is going.

"You got it Mizuki-sensei!" I replied in joy.

"Shh! Not so loud, Naruto. It's supposed to be a secret remember?"

Oh yeah. Whoops.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Forest outside Konoha…**_

_**Later that Evening…**_

"Whew I finally got it." I said wiping the sweat from my face. I probably stink right now from all that effort but that really doesn't matter anymore.

Turns out that secret assignment was a simple one. Well simple for me anyway.

I had to sneak inside the Hokage's office and take a large scroll called the **Fūin no Sho** (_Scroll of Seals_) and bring it back to a safe location without being detected. It was pretty easy since I've been in and out of the Hokage building for a lot when I was younger.

It was mostly to see the old man at lunch or when I needed something.

Then there were times when I was picked up by ANBU because they believed that I was the culprit behind a few incidents in the village.

It was me but like I said to Iruka-sensei, there was nothing to prove it was.

Anyways, since I had a pretty good layout of the place and Mizuki had provided me with the movement schedules for the ANBU available, it was a pretty easy job. The fact that some Chūnin knew the movement schedule for the ANBU—secret ninja that are the best at stealth—was kinda sad…and scary when you think about it.

Sheesh, am I going to have to clean up the holes the security keeps making?

The mission wasn't without a mishap though. There was that quick moment where Hokage-jiji almost had me but I got him with a secret technique I made a while ago.

The **Oiroke no Jutsu** (_Sexy Jutsu_).

It was something I originally made for fun. Fun and a curiosity about the Henge. After many hours of training, I managed to change my form into that of a young woman. Who looked a lot like me.

And…you know. Naked.

Make any joke you want, but that Jutsu would've been an amazing prank and distraction for the male population. It would make robbing people a heck of a lot easier too.

Unfortunately Ayame and Tokie had forbidden me from using it, especially after the first time I showed them. I got the reason why they didn't like it but seeing the _evil_ glare in their eyes really sold me on marking it a secret Jutsu.

I think Ayame realized where I got the body inspiration from…

"…W-well this was a quasi mission so they won't need to know anyway. S-so I don't anything to worry about right? Right. So it's all good."

I took a small breath at this. I know I was acting a bit out of it but there's a good reason. A _very_ good reason.

"Anyway, that Jutsu was a bit tougher than I thought. Who knew that a Bunshin could take that much chakra?" I stood up and dusted my pants off.

While lifting the Sacred Scroll, I had a sudden thought. That place was the vault for the strongest techniques in the village right? And since I was already on a mission to get this scroll, no one would mind if I borrowed another one for my own.

With that, I grabbed two more scrolls and dashed out, only to meet Jiji and reveal one of my secret Jutsu.

It took sometime, like half an hour to an hour later, before I got the Jutsu to work. I took a peak at the other scrolls and managed to copy the notes for them.

I'll get to them later.

"But it's pretty cool."

I made a cross seal and called up my chakra. After getting a bit more than the bare minimum I could manage, I called it out, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(_Shadow Clone Jutsu)_!"

The chakra was let out and in a puff of smoke, a clone of me popped up. He looked exactly like me down to the last detail. He even had a copy of the giant scroll attached to his back. As I moved closer and examined him, I poked him on the headband.

Oh yeah, I wore my headband for this. It felt like my first mission for the Konoha so I thought what the heck.

That is what made this jutsu so cool. This was an honest to God clone!

A true physical one that can punch and kick people. This blew the Bunshin straight out of the water!

"This is so cool!"

"I know right?" the clone replied with a blank look on its face. "So what do you want?"

"Uh…nothing. I was just trying the jutsu out again."

"So I was basically summoned here for no reason other than your curiosity?" I slowly nodded to its question but was confused. This was a clone of me right? So shouldn't he be smiling or something.

"Heh. I should've figured as much. I am just a clone after all." He looked down at the ground with his arms folded.

"Uh…are you okay?"

"Is there really anything okay about being a clone?" He looked back up and stared at me right in the eye. It's kinda freaking me out.

"I am not real. I am merely a construct made out of chakra. No heart. No brain. No blood pumping through my nonexistent veins. Just a mass of chakra shaped into your form and given life. Hmph, I can't really classify myself as a life, can I?"*

Okay. Now this was getting creepy.

"Naruto!"

The hell?! Iruka-sensei? What was he doing here?

"You might want to hide." I turned to the clone as it turned to face the incoming Chūnin. "Iruka-sensei might not be involved in the test. If that's the case, then as the one securing the package, you cannot be seen. Hide yourself in the forest and try to eavesdrop to be sure."

…Okay what is the deal with this clone?

"Why are you still standing here? Get moving." I didn't speak another word and just hopped into the trees. As I was far enough to actually hide myself well, I settled in to watch what would happen next. The clone seemed sure that Iruka-sensei wasn't a part of this test and hiding until I get confirmation that he was involved while the clone talked to him was…a smart idea.

Why didn't I think of that earlier?

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"I've been looking…all over for you!" Iruka said in between pants. He had been running around the village for awhile and only recently thought to check the woods. He also used his special technique to search the darkened woods for anything abnormal. It was a jutsu he had been working on in his free time but he had no name for it yet. It turned out to be a success.

"Do you have any idea of what you've done!?"

Rubbing the back of his head, the fake Naruto replied, "Haha looks you've found me Iruka-sensei. I only had time to learn one Jutsu from the scroll."

Iruka paused and took a good look at Naruto. He could see the few tears and dirt clods on the Uzumaki clone's clothing. Had the blonde been here actually studying the scroll?

"Hey listen, all I need to do is show you this technique and I pass? That's the deal for this secret exam right?"

"…Secret exam? Naruto who told you about a secret exam?" Iruka asked raising an eyebrow.

The blonde was about to say something when he stopped and blinked. "Uh, sorry Sensei but I don't know what the codename for the mission is but if you look at the scroll, I guarantee that it's the real deal. But seriously where's Mizuki-sensei? Shouldn't he be here by now?"

That got Iruka's attention. Mizuki told him? But that would mean—

_**Swoosh!**_

"Sensei move!" Naruto shouted as he heard something incoming.

_**Poosh!**_

The clone was momentarily stunned when it received a strong shove that pushed it off its feet. It could right itself in a second but—

_**Thunk!**_

_**Thunk!**_

_**Snickt!**_

The blonde managed to right himself and turned back to the older male. "Sensei are you—"

…Blood. Small red droplets of blood were falling off Iruka-sensei. Sticking into unprotected parts of his shoulders were small metal disks with bladed edges. In his shoulder was a short ninja knife with a circular end and a hoop to put their finger into.

Iruka was just attacked by Shuriken and Kunai.

The moment the real Naruto had seen the action he was about to get out there and provide assistance. When—

"Hmph should've figured that you would find him first."

Naruto, both the clone and the fake, snapped their heads around to see who had done this. They gaped when they saw the enemy. There was no one else who would have white hair in this village.

No one other than Mizuki.

"You were always the one able to find him Iruka but that doesn't matter now. Naruto, give me the scroll!" Mizuki-sensei shouted as he appeared on a tree branch overlooking the two people in the clearing. On his back were two Fūma Shurikens and on his face a twisted smile.

"Wha—what the hell's going on?"

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled while he pulled all the last kunai out, small traces of blood could be seen falling from both his Chūnin flack jacket and his mouth. "Whatever you do don't give Mizuki the scroll! It contains dangerous techniques known only to our village!"

"And those secrets will go a long way to any top buyers that want them. Oh and speaking of secrets…" this time Mizuki's face changed to a menacing and all knowing smirk, "…Hey, Naruto how'd you like to hear a secret? One that pertains completely to you."

This caused the three lower Shinobi to stop and stare.

"What are you talking about? What secret?" the clone shouted, staying in character. Though it was curious about whatever possible lie that Mizuki would spin to get its attention, the longer it kept the traitor talking to more time it and the original had to plan an escape or counterattack.

"Mizuki don't say it! It's forbidden!" Iruka shouted in panic causing the two blondes to turn to him. The way the Chūnin was move through those injuries, whatever Mizuki was saying was the truth. And it was something that the Uzumaki was not to know. Interesting.

"It started five years ago before you were brought back into the village." The white haired Chūnin started off as he stared down at the two weaklings. This was a long time coming with the guy that he hated and the Kyūbi monster and he was going to savor it as long as he could. Then he would deal the final blow.

"It started out like any regular day but then one of the village sensors picked up on something out in the **Hi no Kuni** (_Fire Country)_. It caused us to shut down a few venues and put the village on lockdown until we could respond to it. The Sandaime managed to contain the situation well enough and write off the incident as nothing more than an exercise.

But behind the scenes, we learned about you. What you represent. And what you hold. And against all common sense, we brought you here. Right in the center of the place you almost destroyed. Somehow who you are got leaked into the village and the Sandaime had to really work to keep things quiet.

He made it so no one would ever speak of your secret under the penalty of death."

The clone paused but on the inside, it was mentally shaking its head. He knew exactly what it was the Chūnin was talking about. So now that little bit was figured out, he had to decided how to Iruka out of the way so that the original could find the other Konoha-nin.

He had no idea what the original was doing but decided to keep playing along. "What was the decree? Why does everyone else know of it but I don't? What happened to me?"

"It actually had to deal with the Kyūbi attack on the village fifteen years ago and its death by the Yondaime." Mizuki's smirk became downright evil. "That was nothing but a lie. He couldn't kill the fox so instead he did something else…"

"Mizuki don't!" Iruka shouted in vain.

"He used a forbidden Ninjutsu on a new born baby and sealed the beast within the kid. However the baby was taken away from the village and never to be seen for ten. Whole. Years. Then just five years ago, he was found thanks to a random sensor-nin that got lucky! And lo and behold, they found you!" Mizuki shouted with a demented look as he stared right into mine.

"NOW DO YOU SEE NARUTO?! YOU ARE THAT BABY WITH THE MONSTER THAT ATTACKED KONOHA INSIDE YOU! YOU ARE THE NINE TAILED FOX!"

…

Silence settled on the field. There was nothing to say. Or it could be there they could say. After such a revelation, the clone lowered its face so that its eyes were shadowed by its face. Iruka could only look on with a pained grimace, only thinking about the multitude of ways that the boy would do.

Mizuki was just happy to get another hit on the two people he hated the most. Oh if only the boy would cry.

"It's sad…"

The two older nins waited in bated breath to see what would come next.

"It's very sad…that you are so pathetic, Mizuki."

…That was not what they were expecting.

"It's very sad that in all the years you've known me that you think I wouldn't be able to piece together the fact that the Kyūbi is sealed inside me on my own or even before I came to this village." The two Chūnin gaped at the new information.

"It's sad that the people of this village would turn to make the life of young child hell just to sate their grief. It's sad that they would attempt to hurt and break the child inside and out for five whole years without any explanation to the child if they didn't already know.

And the saddest part is that they got used to it. They never decided to move on and past it. They never thought past their hate and pain to see that maybe there was something wrong with blaming a child for the fault of a monster. To never attempt to get to know the child and hopefully move on, like Iruka-sensei did. He may not have been comfortable with me at first but he still tried."

The clone then looked up with nothing but crystal blue orbs of distain at Mizuki, "And I'm going to make sure that Iruka stays alive."

It formed a ram seal and erupted in a puff of smoke, only to reappear a few inches in the air in front of Mizuki.

Before the Chūnin could react, he found himself with a face full of bare knuckles.

The Chūnin then woke up from his shock and flipped back to his feet. He didn't know how the little monster managed to teleport but he was going to pay him back for that.

"Oh yeah you little demon-brat!" Mizuki shouted. He hefted one of the Fūma Shuriken on his back in one hand and began to spin it around, the clone staring him down.

After a few seconds of twirling the huge weapon and he threw it. "Come on and die!"

"**Shunshin no Jutsu **(_Body Flicker Jutsu)_...?" Iruka was stunned. When did the blonde learn the technique?

But then he remembered the fact his former student was facing off against his former friend in a life and death battle.

"Naruto, watch ou—" A hand clamped down on the scarred man's mouth and pulled him away from the area, with Mizuki none the wiser.

Iruka managed to remove the hand from his mouth and wrench himself free. He was about to go on the defensive on this possible accomplice when "Iruka-sensei, it's me."

Iruka stopped when he recognized that voice. Confused he turned his head to the side to see, "Naruto?"

"That's a Kage Bunshin fighting Mizuki. I learned it from the scroll." The blonde then grabbed the Umino Shinobi's arm and placed it over his shoulder. "Now come on, we gotta get outta here before—"

The blonde stopped when a quick flash came before his eyes. He saw himself jumping in the air and dodging the Fūma Shuriken by a few scant inches before rushing forward to ram another fist towards Mizuki's face. The Chūnin, seeing it coming this time, moved to the side and dodged it. But the clone couldn't stop its ascent.

The last thing the depressing clone saw was the Konoha Mountain in the distance before everything went dark.

Naruto wobbled and fell to one knee. "What the?"

"Dammit! That was a clone!? Where the hell is that brat learning this Jutsu?!" Mizuki shouted in anger and confusion. He then took off in a random direction, desperate to find the two before it was too late.

Iruka, seeing Naruto's slumped posture and hearing Mizuki's run, ducked both Konoha nins lower into the bushes. The scarred Chūnin knew a bit about the Kage Bunshin and the drawback of its secondary effect: Memory Feedback, when the user receives the memories of the clone when it's killed/dispelled.

And judging from Naruto's expression, he just experienced himself dying.

"Naruto, you need to pull yourself together. We have to get out of here and get back-up before he finds us."

"I…I know that. Just give me a second."

"…So…how long have you known? About the Kyūbi?" Iruka decided to ask, while checking their perimeter to make sure Mizuki hadn't spot them.

"Since before I came here."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Let anyone from this village know that I have a powerful monster in my gut that killed loved ones from fifteen years ago? Yeah, not the best idea, Iruka-sensei." Naruto replied with a shake of his head.

He definitely did not expect this from the technique.

"Not even Sandaime-sama?"

"It never came up. He didn't think I knew about it and I didn't want to talk about it. Hell I wasn't even sure I could trust a lot of people with what I knew. It was just better to act like I didn't know."

The Chūnin grimaced at the truth. Frankly that was the best idea Naruto could've had. For any ninja taken in by the enemy village, playing dumb was the best way to gather your own information. The fact that Naruto suspected Konoha of being the enemy village stung but after everything that has happened, he couldn't fault the thinking.

So for a couple of years, the blonde had been by himself. No family, no friends, and in unfamiliar place.

However Iruka was glad to note that it didn't last long. For the enemies that Naruto unconditionally made of the civilians and the neutral but wary Shinobi forces, the blonde had managed to at least befriend the Ichiraku's, the Jinan's, Sandaime-sama, some of the Clan children from Iruka's class, and Iruka himself.

He had changed things. While he was an even worst prankster than Iruka used to be, the blonde was still so very different.

"You know, I saw myself in you Naruto." His words made the blonde turn to look at him. "I know what it's like to grow up without anyone. What it's like to be alone for a long time. To act out like the class clown just to get attention. I was just like that when I was your age. I had lost my parents in the Kyūbi attack. It hurt a lot knowing I wouldn't see them again. I even saw the beasts face once.

It was the single most terrifying thing I had ever seen in my young life. And it only cemented the idea that my parents wouldn't be coming back from it.

When I heard about you and that you wanted to be a Shinobi, I knew that I was going to be the one to teach you. I was…hesitant, even a bit angry to see you, knowing that you had the monster that took my parents away inside of you. I didn't want to get close to you but…well a lot of things happened. Like when a certain someone came across a few Ame Kunoichi and I had to help save their butt."

"That was more of team-up. I totally had two of them on the ropes." The blonde replied, a bit of humor returning to his voice after hearing Iruka's story.

"But after that, I tried to move on from that. I got to know you and I had to say: you are not the fox nor are you responsible for what it did. You're a good kid, Naruto. You can be friendly and you're strong. You may have had to deal with loneliness but you handled it better than I did. You didn't become a clown to cover up the pain and anger. You stood up and worked right through it. First on your own and then when the others stood behind you. But when it came to me…it took you getting attacked before I even thought about helping you."

Small tears began to fall down his eyes as he clenched his fist. "I'm sorry Naruto. I—"

"**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu **(_Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu)_!"

Iruka turned around and paled in fear. A large fireball was heading straight towards them! Thinking quickly, Iruka grabbed Naruto and threw him back into the woods before taking off in the opposite himself.

_**Boosh!**_

The explosion from the fire jutsu erupted in a bonfire, no doubt leaving a crater of scorched earth in its wake. Iruka however was not concerned in the blast but where the caster was. And luckily, Mizuki had not hidden himself. Thinking on the fly, Iruka summoned his chakra and called out, "**Henge no Jutsu."**

In a puff of smoke, Iruka's form changed to that of Naruto, scroll and all. Hoping that Mizuki would follow the ruse, no questions asked, the disguised Chūnin took off in a run.

Luckily he was right. Mizuki in a rush, raced after what he was perceived as his target.

Having a similar idea to what Iruka had, Mizuki assumed the Henge form of Iruka. A simple plan but something will work nine time out of ten. That one time where it doesn't requires a very intelligent person.

It was safe to say what Mizuki thought of Naruto's intelligence.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Sometime Later…**_

Naruto stood over the beaten and bloody body of Mizuki, an full toothed smile on his face as he looked at Iruka who sat a few feet away.

Mizuki's plan had fallen apart the moment Iruka turned the tables on him during the short chase. During the small moment where the truth was revealed and their Henges dispelled, the pair of Chūnin went into a small discussion about Naruto.

Mizuki proclaimed that Naruto was just like him and would use the Forbidden Scroll to release the Kyūbi's power and take revenge on Konoha for the wrongs they committed on him. He even questioned why Iruka would help Naruto if he hated the Kyūbi for killing his parents.

However while Iruka accepted and out loud admitted that he did hate the fox but he countered the rest of Mizuki's claim by stating, "Naruto is not the Kyūbi. He is Uzumaki Naruto, a proud ninja of the Leaf and my student and I'm proud that he is."

Unbeknownst to the two, Naruto had been hiding nearby and had heard everything. Having heard everything up to Iruka's speech, the blond found it hard to hold back the giddy smile he had been feeling. Iruka had accepted him, even proclaimed he was proud of him.

Those simple words were worth more to the blond Jinchūriki than anything. He had someone who initially didn't like him now trying to protect him.

That was one more person to add to his list of people he was close to.

So when he saw Mizuki about to take Iruka out with his last Fūma shurinken, Naruto promptly leapt in as Iruka's assistance and managed to defeat the white haired traitor with the Tajū Kage Bushin no Jutsu, a solid clone technique that could make hundreds of the creator.

It was over in just a couple of minutes.

Naruto scratched the back of his head looking sheepish as he asked, "Hehe I guess I overdid it huh?"

Iruka chuckled. "Yeah I guess you did." He then paused to consider something but smiled when he was done. "Hey Naruto come here for a minute."

The blond hero was confused for a second before he complied with Iruka's wishes and walked over to the injured teacher. Once there Iruka asked Naruto to keep his eyes closed until he was done. Naruto was hesitant at first but he did as he was told and closed his eyes. The blond could feel Iruka doing something to his headband but didn't really know what it was.

A few seconds later he reopened them to Iruka smiling at him.

"Sorry, it's just that your headband was kinda messed up and about to fall off. Can't have a fellow Shinobi's headband look bad now can we?" Taking a moment to sigh and lay back, Iruka stifled a groan of pain and looked at his now former student in the eye. "Congratulations Naruto. You've really earned that headband."

The large grin on Naruto's face was all that was needed to be said. All was right with the world.

"Oh how sweet."

A vindictive voice sneered throughout the small area. Both Naruto and Iruka turned to see none other than Mizuki slowly standing back up, his wounds from Naruto's clones still aching and present.

"The beaten teacher awarding his student for saving his life. Hehehe and what's even funnier is the fact that it's the very same student that housing the thing that kills his parents!" Mizuki laughed a bit more, though it was bordering on the side of maniacal than regular. After a minute he stopped and glared right at the two loyal leaf shinobi, prompting Naruto to take a defensive stance for his teacher.

"It's over Mizuki. Come with us now and you won't be hurt any further." Iruka stated though in his current state it wasn't much of a threat.

"Tch. You were always too soft when it came to kids Iruka but not me. I've hated that stupid job and this village for too long. This is my chance for bigger and better things. I've come too far for you and some orange retard to screw this up for me." The traitor Chūnin reached into his vest pocket while Naruto prepared for anything.

The blond was confused when it was revealed that Mizuki pulled out what looked like a small flask with a strange symbol on it. He was even more confused when the purple haired man downed the contents in a second.

Mizuki then threw the small container away and gave Naruto and Iruka one nasty smile, "So I'm going to end this little charade."

As soon as he finished that sentence, Mizuki's body erupted in a blast of foulest, most malevolent chakra Iruka had ever felt. It paled in comparison to the Kyūbi's chakra from the two times he had felt it but this was still pretty close.

It felt as if it was draining and killing the green life around them, since it did look like the grace he was standing on was wilting away into nothing. Naruto and Iruka could only stare as the purple energy circled the former teacher in a typhoon of energy. His Chūnin flack jacket was shredded from the energy output along with the mesh shirt underneath.

After a few seconds, the swirl of power died down and revealed a much different Mizuki that Naruto and Iruka were not prepared for.

The new Mizuki had grown to a height of six feet, effectively towering over Naruto and Iruka. His whole body had suddenly increased in muscle mass, making him look like a weight lifter, while taking on a strange orange color. The final change was the dark tattoo marks that had appeared on the left side of his face and down his arms and sides.

He clearly resembled a black stripped orange tiger.

Mizuki reveled in his newfound power. It felt so amazing! It felt like he could take on all the heavy hitters of Konoha all on his own. Oh that would be so glorious right now if he didn't have to get out of here before the Hokage showed up.

The now primal Mizuki sneered as he refocused on his two victims for tonight.

"Now look and see you little trash! Witness the power I've gained from Orochimaru-sama!"

The reactions from the two were different.

Iruka was struck with both shock and fear when he heard the traitorous Snake Sannin's name. The situation had just gotten worse and with that weird stuff that Mizuki had taken there's no telling what he could do now.

He had to get Naruto away from here and get help!

Naruto…Naruto suddenly clutched his head as the biggest and most violent headache started to come over him.

That weird energy, whatever it did to Mizuki…it was all wrong. It reeked of something foul and unnatural. It made his blood boil. His head was swimming in agony. His pulse was picking up and down in a crazy rhythm.

The boy dropped to his knees. What was going on with him?

Mizuki saw this and laughed in an uproar, "Looks like the little Kyūbi brat can't handle my new power. Well don't worry gaki, cause you'll be dead in a little bit!"

Mizuki then shot forward with a large muscled arm pulled back; ready to pound our blond hero into paste.

Luckily for the Uzumaki orphan, Iruka managed to muster enough strength to push Naruto out of the way and dodge the punch himself before it could connect. Unfortunately since he was still in pain, Iruka did not have enough strength to move fast enough to dodge the second punch to his face.

With no energy left, Iruka was sent straight for a nearby tree and slumped into unconsciousness.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**BA-BUMP.**_

I can feel it banging against me. My head just won't stop. What's wrong with me? Why is my head trying to explode?

Not now. This is not the time for a headache.

I have to help Iruka-sensei or we'll both end up dead. But I should've been paying attention or I would have realized that Mizuki was coming right at me but I just couldn't let go of my head. Suddenly I felt a hand on my side that pushed me far enough to be safe. It was obviously Iruka-sensei.

I felt glad that even now he was watching out for me and that gave me enough strength to push past my headache and sit up so that I can get to my feet and unleash some more clones. A good couple hundred oughta buy us enough time to get back into Konoha.

Unfortunately when I looked up I wasn't expecting to see Mizuki drive one of his new huge fists to into Iruka-sensei's face and send him to a tree. A pit of distress began to invade my gut. Iruka-sensei couldn't…he just couldn't be…dead?

_**BA-BUMP**_

Could he be? Was he…No Iruka-sensei couldn't be gone. He's a precious person. He acknowledged me and fought to keep me alive.

He's gotta be alright…he just has to be.

_**BA-BUMP**_

I gotta get up. I gotta get us out of here. If I can get him to the hospital they may be able to help sensei.

But there's still Mizuki.

He's so much stronger than normal so I don't think that my Kage Bushin are going to do any good. I need something more powerful to beat him.

_**BA-BUMP**_

I need this damn headache to go away so I can concentrate! I need…I need…

_**BA-BUMP! BA-BUMP!**_

_You need to kill him._

What?

_He's no longer a regular human. He's unnatural. He's a monster. He's going to kill you and Iruka-sensei. He may even kill the others just to spite you. If you get rid of him, you'll both be safe._

_**BA-BUMP! BA-BUMP!**_

That's true…Mizuki was a monster now. An enemy.

_It's a shinobi's job to kill all enemies both in and outside their homes. So you know this is the right course. _

For some reason I could feel that whoever was talking to me was smirking.

…_Just do as you did it before._

A flash came of light appeared in my mind. When it cleared, I was standing in a clearing that was a couple of miles away from Konoha. I could tell since the trees were not as high as the ones back in Konoha and my muscles felt a bit tired from all the running I've done to get this far.

Standing a couple of feet away from me was large sack. Inside it was a girl that I knew from the Academy, who was most likely unconscious.

And right in front of me was a man, cut off at the waist. The knife that did him in was clenched in my hand, heavily stained with his blood.

I didn't smile. I didn't cry. I just stared. Stared at body of the dead man I had killed with my eyes. I made that decision to save someone. I did it because the man was stronger than me and I would have died without them.

"_Remember to be careful with those eyes, Naruto. Special abilities attract other special abilities. So only use them in a situation that really calls for it."_

_**BA-BUMP.**_

I don't think I was completely conscious when I felt the seal let loose and the lines began to appear. I remember Aoko-sensei's words well and its time I followed through with them.

I know what I have to do…

_Chapter 1 end…_

Next time:

_The Impulse is sated._

_**Hmph to think I had to be woken up by a low monster like you.**_

_And revelations are given light._

_**Naruto I am sorry that you had to hear all that from Mizuki.**_

_**Jinchuuriki means "power of human sacrifice". It is the term used for a human who is used in the process of sealing away Bijuu.**_

_However the blood stained hands must move forward._

_**She was now standing before me, a crimson piece of metal lodged through her chest.**_

_**I was…so sad.**_

_**Yes Naruto, you are not the only one.**_

_Now after so many years, the name is heard._

_**W-who…what are you?!**_

_**...Isn't it obvious?**_

_Nanaya._

_**I'm NARUTO.**_

_The blade descended._

_**Kyuutsuki no Uzumaki**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Awaken Satsujin Uzumaki II**_

Edited: 05/16/2013

AJ Katon out.


	2. Awaken Satsujin Uzumaki II

Kyuutsuki No Uzumaki

By

AJ Katon

Disclaimer: I do not own the Natsu-verse or Naruto seeing as they belong to their respective owners. I do own the various OC's that may be introduced later on.

Arc 1: Maelstrom Konoha

Chapter 2: Awaken Satsujin Uzumaki II

If there was one thing that Hiruzen Sarutobi, The **Shinobi** **no Kami **(_God of Shinobi), _and the Sandaime Hokage, hated more than his greatest enemy (paperwork), waiting for the next issue of Icha Icha from his erstwhile student, or even going through the headaches of the Council meetings, it's when the proverbial s*%t storm hits the fan.

And if there was an s*%t storm to not like, it's when a certain dead blabbermouth exposes one of the villages biggest secrets to the person said secret is about and when the person who said secret is about reveals that he already knew of his secret before he even came to the village.

Damn Mizuki. Damn the whole situation.

Hiruzen let out a deep sigh as he looked at the unconscious form of Uzumaki Naruto, one of his many orphan charges for the last five years, while the boy slept in the hospital bed. He looked completely undisturbed as he slept, as if the entire ordeal had been nothing more than a dream. After what had happened, Hiruzen would've never thought he'd be so happy to see the boy sleeping so peacefully.

It was only twelve hours after the Forbidden Scroll Incident and the boy had yet to wake up from the self-induced sleep. The Sandaime had been worried but the doctors assured him that there was nothing wrong with the boy and that rest would definitely be the most helpful to him now.

Hiruzen had agreed and stayed to watch over the lad, hoping that he would have the chance to talk to him soon.

Unfortunately his limited time was up. He was still acting Hokage and he had a village to run. Plus after the debacle from last night, there were going to be many talks over the security and the revelation of his former student's involvement.

Along with Naruto…

_This will be a long day_. The aged Hokage sighed once more, hoping that Naruto would wake up soon and answer some of the questions that he had or just so that he could know that the boy was okay.

Not only physically but mentally.

A small shiver worked its way up his spine. He had watched the classes of academy students, mostly for their possible progress and those that were Clan Heirs, so he knew he that there were those that were considered "exceptional" or of "Genius" level. He had seen Genius in that Shikamaru boy but since the lazy lad was a Nara it was to be expected. There was also Uchiha Sasuke but that was a tentative situation as it was.

The others that could be called exceptional were, of course, a small part of the Academy and one of them was Uzumaki Naruto. The Uzumaki was good. He had the bearing and knowledge that told of prior training in stealth, ninja tools, and chakra training despite his goofball manner.

The blond may have hidden it well but if one were to look at the things he's done, they'd see it.

This was brought up before in Council meetings with many suspecting that the boy had been under the instruction of enemy or foreign ninja. This was even further discussed when the subject of the boy's memory loss came into question.

Naruto was given a mental and physical examination a few times by the Konoha hospital and Yamanaka Inoichi, the Head Interrogator, but nothing came up that spoke of mental tampering other than the trauma that made him use the Kyuubi chakra years ago. The ANBU had kept a close eye on the boy to ascertain if there was the possibility of a mental breakdown.

The issue was dropped after a whole year of surveillance.

But after tonight...

Hiruzen probably would never forget what he witnessed that night. The skill. The speed. The strength that was needed to do those things.

But most of all...Naruto himself.

Thinking back on it, he should've had the ANBU get there sooner…

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_Last night…_

_Hokage Tower…_

_Not a second after Hiruzen had seen Mizuki take out that mystery flask and utter _that_ name, did he know that it was time to end this. Rising from his chair, the Kage raised a ramgathered the necessary chakra to alert the ANBU. Three seconds later, a team of four animal masked ninja appeared before their leader, kneeling with their heads to the ground._

"_ANBU, head to the forest and assist Uzumaki Naruto and Umino Iruka immediately. If you find Mizuki, apprehend him quickly and recover the Forbidden scroll."_

"_Hai, Hokage-sama!" chorused the elite team before they used __**Shunshin no Jutsu**__ (Body Flicker) to disappear in quick speed._

_The Sandaime then went back to his crystal ball to make sure that the situation didn't get any worse. He wanted to go out there and see to it personally but if he left then that would attract too much attention to certain elements that he didn't need to be asking questions at the moment. Plus after what he had learned, he needed to get his mind together for reality of what he heard from the clone._

_To learn that the one you looked after kept secrets from you was both disheartening and at the same time expected. And considering the young Uzumaki's situation, discretion was the best choice to make._

_However when he refocused on the grassy scene of the newly powered Mizuki he would find that his decision on the quick retrieval was not fast enough._

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**The Forest…**_

_Things were finally looking up for Mizuki. He wasn't really sure about that whatever was in that flask before he took it, since he had gotten it awhile back but never had the chance to use it. It had been on the spur of the moment that he took it only a few seconds ago so that he could teach the Kyuubi brat a lesson and maybe smack Iruka around a bit just for the hell of it._

_And he was just getting started._

_If this was how those guys who made the phrase "drunk on power" felt, then damn it felt good!_

_But now that he had taken both of those pieces of trash out, it was probably time to hightail it to Rice Country and Orochimaru before anyone else showed up. Now where did the dead last drop that scroll?_

_A rustle in the area behind him made the white haired traitor-turned-tiger man turn around and scan the area, hoping that it was not a team of ANBU but he immediately relaxed when he sees it was just Naruto._

_The boy's orange and black jumpsuit looked haggard and a bit more cut up than earlier but for the most part still intact and wearable. Uzumaki's face was unknown since his head was downcast and his sun kissed blond hair was obstructing a good look at it._

_Mizuki scoffed. So the brat wanted to go another round of pain? Well who was he to deny a student what they wanted?_

"_So __Kyūbi no Yōko__, you want another taste of my awesome power?" the Chunin asked, his face twisted into a sneer._

_Naruto however didn't respond. As a matter of fact the boy seemed completely unresponsive for a good minute._

_Mizuki didn't like that._

_Here he was ready to pound the brat but the little twerp didn't he have the manners to shout something back…well that didn't have anything to do with manners but he was expecting the loud teenager to shout or curse at him. It's what he usually did._

_So…what's the hold up?_

"_Ah whatever. I have a schedule to keep up and the dead last is holding me up. Time to pay you back for all those years of annoyance, Kyūbi!"_

_The ex-Konoha nin yelled as he ran toward Naruto intent on punching straight through the brat's chest. That would be a good way to start things off wouldn't it?_

_He was only one foot away from the brat but in good striking distance as he cocked a clawed hand back. Pumped on anticipation, Mizuki threw it forward eagerly waiting to hear the sound of caved in flesh and maybe even a scream of pure anguish and pain._

_So imagine his surprise when the sound he heard was not that but…the sound of wood breaking? What the?_

_Naruto had pulled a __**Kawamiri**__ from Mizuki's eyes and left the man-tiger punching the tree that was behind the blond, leaving a fist sized mark in the bark. The white haired Chunin was flabbergasted before moving onto being angry. Where the hell did his prey go?_

"_Hmph to think I had to be woken up by a low monster like you."_

_A low yet familiar voice rang out into the small field._

_It held nothing short of boredom and apathy in its voice with a hint of mocking, though Mizuki didn't catch that. He was too busy trying to find and hopefully silence it. What made it worse was that he couldn't sense the person's chakra signature so he had to rely on the old fashioned method of moving his head around._

_Silence fell upon the small area and it wasn't doing any good for Mizuki's mood. He had to leave now but leaving a witness, especially one that may have saved the fox brat, was something that would not be good for his escape. He was about to start moving when he heard a twig snap behind him._

_There!_

_He twisted around and launched himself at the location with a clawed hand ready to rip someone to shreds. It was going perfect until-_

_**SHINK!**_

"_!"_

_Mizuki screamed to the heavens as he jumped back clutching his now half an arm, the other half sailing through the air leaving a whirlwind like trail of blood before dropping down next to his foot. He didn't even see the slash coming and by then it was too late._

_The feel of cold steel cutting straight through his muscles like it was nothing more than rare meat. His bones, which were more thank likely strengthened thanks to that concoction, became little more than brittle twigs as they too were cut. In the span of only a second, whatever blade that struck Mizuki passed through his arm, severing all links to his former appendage and leaving him in the worse pain he had ever felt._

_Clutching his stump of an arm, which was starting to bleed immensely, the traitor tried to right himself and calm down._

_That's when he heard another twig snap, this time to his right._

_He snapped his head in the same direction long enough to see the silhouette of a small figure with spiky hai-_

_**SHINK!**_

_**SQUELCH!**_

_Pain._

_Mizuki felt nothing but pure white agonizing pain as two more parts of his body were sliced at; his left leg all the way up to his upper right hip. Luckily Mizuki had been a bit faster at responding thanks to his Shinobi training and hyper panicking senses, thus saving himself from being bisected. Unfortunately Mizuki still had to go with the pain and now it was eating away at his rationality._

_Now all he wanted was to kill whoever was hurting him._

"_Where are you?! Come out and fight you coward!" the white haired ninja roared at the trees._

_His answer:_

_**SHINK!**_

_**SHINK!**_

_**SHINK!**_

_**SQUUELCH!**_

_Mizuki's screams intensified as he felt more limbs being eviscerated from his body and soon he bore witness to his other arm falling to pieces from the pinkie to the top of the shoulder._

_Then his legs followed suit as small pieces of shins fell away liked diced fish before being removed from his bottom torso, allowing him to fall to face first to the ground and his now open wounds jettisoning his life fluid into the air._

_Mizuki thought he was going into shock._ _He'd lost all his limbs and he was bleeding too much._

_He…was going to die._ _He was really going to die._

_Is this how his end was going to come?_

_At this moment, his rising fear of the end had awoken a trickle of his old self. The one before he had been branded a miscreant from the death of his teammate in the field._

_The one that kept him from going higher in the ranks making him stay a Chunin teacher. _

_The one that slowly turned him from the man Tsubaki had known and loved into the one who went to men like Orochimaru for power and was now dying._

_Tsubaki…_

_Mizuki heard the sound of the footsteps once more and, despite the pain he was in, managed to turn his head to see the diminutive figure once more._

_A bloody kunai was gripped into its right hand in the reverse position and their face indistinguishable due to the darkness. The figure reached down and grasped at Mizuki's neck, its fingers holding extra tight. The white haired Chunin stared at the person before him with fear evident on his face._

_He knew this person was going to kill him._ _There was nothing else he can do._

_So with the last bit of strength and coherent thought in himself, Mizuki asked, "W-wh…what are you?"_

_The figure seemed to tilt its head to the side, as if considering the answer. It hummed for a few seconds before straightening its head and staring at Mizuki, though its eyes were closed._

_Suddenly the clouds above the two departed from their spots and illuminated the clearing in white moonlight, finally showing the one to kill Mizuki. However once the person was revealed, the white haired Chunin gasped in shock._

_Standing before him, illuminated by the pale light of the moon and with small traces of blood, Mizuki's blood, on his orange and black jumpsuit was none other than the dead last prankster king and Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi No Yoko, Naruto Uzumaki._

"_Hm…what am I?" asked the blond Jinchuuriki, his eyes closed in slits like the fox imprisoned within him. The boy's voice still had the same mocking yet bored tone, which didn't seem to fit him at all._

_As a matter of fact it made him seem cold and indifferent._ _It was a definite change from the hyper prankster everyone knew him as._

_Naruto's face morphed into a small smirk, as if he considered something to be a joke before he cracked open his right eye into a half slit._

"_Isn't it obvious Mizuki?" the foxlike blond responded as he flipped the blade into the right position and raised it over his head, poised to strike._

"_I'm NARUTO."_

"_UZUMAKI! HALT!"_

_Naruto stopped the descent of the kunai at the voice. Turning his head slightly, he saw the four ANBU descend from the trees and land around him. Two of which, a Cat and a Monkey, were holding the kunai back from delivering the finishing blow while the other two, a Hawk and a Dragon placed their hands upon Mizuki and pulled him away from Naruto._

_The blond did not speak a word but there was a subtle shift in his demeanor that spoke of anger._

"_Uzumaki stand down. By the order of Sandaime-sama, we are here to apprehend Mizuki and bring him in for questioning. You and Iruka-san are to report to the Hospital for treatment." Dragon ordered staring the Uzumaki boy down. Hawk took Mizuki and began working a healing Jutsu to keep the man alive despite the blood loss._

"_Let me go. He has to die." He replied, his voice never rising higher than it is. The blonde began moving to get loose from the two ANBU. Cat and Monkey were equally surprised when the boy managed to move their grips. _

_How was he so strong?_

"_Uzumaki stand down or we will charge you for insubordination." Dragon spoke, his voice full of Authority that made his subordinates fall in line._

_Naruto continued to try to move forward. The words of some man in a mask were nothing to him. There was only Mizuki who had to die for his horrible chakra. He was definitely not human anymore and needed to die._

_And these ANBU were in his way…_

_**THWACK!**_

_Naruto's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell forward. Cat caught him in her arms and checked him over. He was completely unconscious._

"_Good work Monkey." Cat said as she looked up at her fellow ANBU. He nodded back as he went to retrieve the scroll. Cat then turned to Dragon for orders._

"_Sandaime-sama will speak with Uzumaki when he awakens. For now, Hawk will get Mizuki to the T&I department and make sure that he doesn't die before we learn what we can from him. Monkey shall help you get Umino and Uzumaki medical attention. I will take the scroll back to the Sandaime-sama and report on what happened here."_

_The other three operatives nodded their orders and went about carrying them out. Monkey gave the Kage Bunshin scroll to their leader and he and Cat took off towards the hospital taking the only two loyal Konoha nins with them. Hawk was already gone at this point._

_With nothing else to do here, Dragon used his __**Shunshin **__to get back to the Hokage's office, leaving the scene of blood and dismemberment behind._

_Someone else would be here to clean the place up._

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback over…**_

Sarutobi shook his head remembering all that. To think Naruto would attempt to get past the ANBU. That he would need to be knocked out before he did something he would've regretted. The Sandaime didn't know what to make of Naruto's attitude at the battle. What he did know was that it had nothing to do with the Kyuubi. If it did he would've felt the Bijuu's terrifying killing intent.

Hell the whole village would've felt it again if that were the case. However what he saw was all Naruto.

The killing intent. The skill and strength needed used to cut Mizuki like that. It all belonged to the young blonde. That was what was troubling him the most.

Yes, the grandfather in him was truly shocked to see the level of brutality that Naruto had used. To be able to not only cut through Mizuki's bone and muscle but to do so in single strokes. That should not be possible unless…unless Naruto utilized chakra flow of the wind element.

Sarutobi shook his head. While that was a possible theory he would need to find where Naruto would find the information needed to do such a technique. Plus Naruto's elemental affinity was still a mystery.

Then there was Naruto's speed and stealth. As stated before, he knew the blonde was one of the very few Genin highly capable of moving quietly and blending in with his surroundings, despite his rather colorful appearance. However the old man now had seen a much better look at this assumption.

That's was not the sort of stealth that one would expect in an Academy graduate to possess even for Naruto, since he'd proven himself to be very efficient in stealth judging from both his grades and his Hokage Mountain prank.

After awhile of debating on whether or not to have Naruto sent to Inoichi to perform a mind reading but thought better of it. This was brought to discussion before and as always doing so might bring the Kyuubi to forefront and Inoichi might lose his life. Another mental evaluation would be for the best but strictly through words.

And that was something he would do himself. He had to know how the boy's mind was after such an ordeal.

So the Sandaime decided that he would wait for Naruto to wake up and then get his story on what happened.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"_From today onward, you shall serve *h*** and A**h* as a bodyguard. Protect them with your life, Uzumaki-san."_

Drip_._

"_To be a Shinobi is being close to death. To find yourself as the one who deals it out and just another soul to be lost to its embrace._

_Don't be the second one, brat."_

Drip_._

"_If that's the path you want to take, then make the path that you'll have the least amount of regrets. I would not tell you to be a saint, Naruto. Since we're all flawed anyway. But I want you to be the best you can be, with only yourself to answer to."_

Drip_._

"Ugh…" I groaned after hearing that same damn sound for the last couple of minutes. I didn't know why the water faucet was still on but now that it had to go and disturb my sleep I might as well go turn it off.

Great. I also gotta pee.

But when I moved to get up, things went down a bad road. You see I finally realized that I wasn't sleeping on my somewhat comfortable bed in my apartment complex. I was sleeping in some kinda sewer or boiler room with an eerie red lighting and pipes that glow a strange blue light. The floor was flooded with water that came up to my ankles for some reason and …

The walls were covered…with them. The lines. Those special lines that only I can see.

But how? The seal that Sensei and I made should keep me from seeing them. Wait, didn't I take it off during that—

Oh crap! Iruka-sensei! Was he still alright?! I gotta find a way out of here.

But after running down one hallway and coming to dead end, I found out that it would be harder than I thought. And who the hell threw me into a sewer?! When I found out whoever did it someone's either going to get pranked straight to hell or they're going to wake up with a kunai stuck up their ass!

I ignored the lines as I kept on walking. They wouldn't bother me if I just didn't pay attention to them and luckily this place wasn't completely filled with them. While I can say that this place wasn't that bad, I didn't like it. It was so…creepy and dark.

Sheesh where's the exit?

_BA-BUMP._

_BA-BUMP._

Wait a sec…what is that? It feels like…there's something here. I don't know why I kept moving through the corridors as if I know where I'm going but I do. It's like there's something pulling me forward. It feels just like that thing from earlier.

This probably isn't the best idea I've had but as I already said I'm going towards it. I pass one more corner and come to a stop seeing a long hallway to my right. The feeling is coming from that direction.

_BA-BUMP._

I continued to walk that way and taking in the corridor. This place wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. Granted I've never been in a sewer before but I'm pretty sure they don't have glowing blue pipes. What the heck were those things? I had a lot of questions but they wouldn't be answered now.

I had reached the end of the hallway and found a large gate. The iron bars at the front pretty much told me what it was but it only made me come up with more questions. Also there was a strange piece of paper with the word "seal" on it. It reminded me of those seal papers that Iruka-sensei went over in class one time.

_BA-BUMP._

_BA-BUMP._

Suddenly something appeared beyond the gate that made me stop in my tracks. My legs felt frozen yet were still trying to get me to move. My palms were becoming sweaty as I clenched them closed. And my head and heart were starting to pound in a steady rhythm.

It was an eye. A large crimson red eye with slit pupils.

_BA-BUMP._

It lowered down and met my own eyes and I felt that headache rhythm start up again. Despite all that, I knew what that eye was and what it was connected to. I saw it a many times in my nightmares and I've heard about it before in books or in the insults people told about me.

"Kyūbi no Yōko**.**" I said in a low whisper.

The eye seemed to widen a bit before closing as a deep low laughter began to flow around the room and possibly throughout this whole place. Suddenly its mouth and other eye appeared from the darkness.

Its teeth almost made me run away like a scared rabbit. Such large razor sharp teeth.

"**So my fellow monster of a container has decided to pay his lowly prisoner a visit? I am truly honored." **It said, its voice sounding the loudest yet the deepest I've ever heard in my life. **"And here I thought you had forgotten about me, Kinshō Bakemono (**_Little Monster)_.**"**

"…Kinda hard to do when I see the tattoo on my stomach and people keep looking at me like I'm you." I replied, not really sure how I was talking since I was sure my brain was shut down.

"**Hm…true. True. Though you do have some destructive characteristics yourself, it is not at the level to take on my name. Bakemono. You all try to stick a name to anything so that your little perceptions can be satisfied. And the Rikudō beware, if you don't."**

The Kyūbi then smiled wide. It was going to haunt my dreams a lot more.

"**Just like how to satisfy their hate, they label you as me and take their turns on how much it takes to make you hurt. The harsh words. The little beatings when they…attempted to gang up on you. And the times they made you take the blame for almost all of the encounters.**

**Hmhmhm. Such greedy Ningen."**

Okay, I was sure that it was saying all that just to make me angry. It still worked but I now know that it was trying to manipulate me with the truth about my situation. I read in one of the Academy books that this was one of the ways to get information. Or to just inflict mental harm on the enemy.

"Yeah, those guys are real a%&holes. Though if some overweight fox hadn't tried to kill them some sixteen years ago then no one would have a problem."

"**Oh is that a retort? And here I thought you were just a small flea looking upon a greater existence. Now it seems you are a flea that can talk."**

"Big talk coming from the big bad monster locked in my stomach." I shot back, feeling my anger coming to life. It may have been the Kyūbi but he was still stuck behind bars. He couldn't get to me.

…I hope.

The beast fell silent. I'm not sure if my insult stuck a very big chord with it but I was both glad and a bit worried. I just scored a hit against it in the form of insults so that's cool. But there was still the idea of what it can or can't do inside the seal.

Since I've never met it before today and since I don't know that much about this seal…I probably shouldn't have mouthed off.

Totally worth it though.

The silence was broken when its eyes closed and its mouth opened to let out a loud booming laugh. It was so loud that the area felt like it was rocking from an earthquake. Luckily nothing broke apart from the shaking but now I've got a major headache.

Wait this is my mind isn't it? So why wouldn't I have a headache?

"**You are quite tough for a Container, Kinshō Bakemono. An amusing aspect. At least more talkative than the others I've known." **The fox said as it looked down at me.

I raised an eyebrow. Others? Who the heck would the Kyūbi talk t—

Wait. Could it be? "You were sealed in other people?" I asked pointing a finger at it. I then realized another thing.

"And why do you keep calling _me_ of all people monster?"

Its red eyes seemed to glow with dark intentions but it answered, **"Oh? And what makes you believe that Bakemono?"**

"You're a giant fox of doom. There aren't a lot of things you could talk to unless they're other Bijuu or maybe, just maybe, other people who've had you sealed in them." I replied taking the guess.

"Plus you said I was more talkative than the others. That probably means that the others didn't want to talk to you and the only ones I think wouldn't want to talk to you were the people you were sealed inside."

There was another moment of silence. I think the Kyūbi was thinking over since its eyes had closed again. That was good for me since it gave me a chance to breath.

It was still kinda crazy knowing that I was inside my head. Well…in a strange part in my head anyway. In here I can actually see and talk to the giant monster in my gut that's responsible for possibly killing my parents and killing a lot of people which caused me to have a bad reputation in Konoha.

So…what do I do with this? I can't really hurt the Kyūbi since I don't know if it can get hurt without hurting me or if it felt pain. Can it feel pain?

Kyūbi's eyes opened wide again as it spoke.

"**You are smarter than I or they possibly give you credit for. For credit for your quick guess work I shall give you this. Yes, I was sealed within other containers…"** Kyūbi then smirked, **"But I won't be telling you who or how many. If you wish to know, then figure it out yourself. If your little mind can."**

"Is this whole insulting me thing gonna happen a lot?"

"**But of course. Since I've been in the deep, dark, empty corner of your mind for so long, I've gone without any entertainment. I must do something to appease my boredom. Even if it means trading words with a lesser being."**

The amused smirk disappeared when the Chakra monster spoke its next words.

"**Especially a lesser being with **_**those**_** set of eyes."**

I blinked in confusion at first before my eyes widened in shock. First the Fox was sealed into people before me and now it knows about me eyes? Geez what else does it know?

"**It is time that you woke up. We shall talk again."**

"Hey! Wait a sec! I've still got questi-aaaaAAAHHH!" I yelled as a large gust of wind propelled me off my feet.

Then everything went white.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"What the hell?!"

Naruto's shout served to scare the hell out of the young brunette nurse who had come to check on him. It was only a few hours after the Hokage had left and the sunny hours of the next day afternoon were showing in the windows.

The blond Jinchūriki blinked to himself for a few seconds before he finally noticed the shocked nurse standing next to him. He also noticed her lines and instantly put a hand on his face to hide the seal being reactivated.

Great he was in a hospital. "Uh, sorry?"

The nurse rolled her eyes and proceeded to get the bed sheets from the other bed in the room. Just as she was about to leave the room, she turned back to the blonde and said, "I'll tell Hokage-sama and Sougen-sensei that you're awake. So stay here."

He sighed at that and fell back on his pillow. He was still worn out from all the crazy events from last night.

The **Kage Bunshin** technique. Iruka's confession. Mizuki's transformation and-

He sat up with a start, his cerulean blue eyes wide in shock and horror. He recalled what happened after he beat Mizuki the first time.

The crazy transformation. That…ugh…horrible chakra, Iruka pushing him out of harms way, making his respect and liking towards the Chunin instructor go up. Then him taking down Mizuki using his eyes.

Then came the…ANBU.

Naruto slapped a hand on his face. Of all the stupid things to do, he had to start a possible fight with the masked assassins that guarded Konoha day and night. It wasn't like it was mostly his fault. They got in the way.

Mizuki was supposed to die by Naruto's hand.

But seeing as they needed to interrogate the traitor for any information on who he was working for Naruto could now see why they stopped him.

But why didn't he want to stop until Mizuki was nothing more than sliced meat? He never had that drive to hu—no kill someone before. Well not that he remembered anyway. He was even prepared to slice into the ANBU if they hadn't taken him out.

However it didn't dull the fact of what happened. Or just how easily he cut Mizuki apart.

The Uzumaki began to tremble from just remembering the smell. That copper smell.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Naruto rubbed his face to move the drowsiness out of his system before heading to the bathroom. He still needed to go number one after all.

After taking care of that, the blond washed up with the sink. Splashing the mid-cold water on his face, Naruto looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked a bit tired from his ordeal. He felt like too.

He'd never felt this bad before.

This was much worse than all those times he had been punched in the gut during the spars with the other students or even when he trained by himself and felt his insides tighten due to the pain.

The blond orphan shook his head to shake off that feeling. Now that he was awake, he didn't need to stay here any longer. The quicker he was out of this confining space, the quicker he could…well he didn't really have much a plan besides getting out of the room but he'd come up with something later.

Maybe he could go find Iruka.

A knock at the door caught his attention just as he had finished toweling off. Wondering who would visit him, he told the person that they could come in.

His spirits went up when he saw the Sandaime come in and closed the door, the good old grandfather like smile on his wrinkled face.

"Ah, Naruto. Good afternoon my boy. How are you feeling?"

"I feel better Jiji," the orphan replied, his voice slowly coming back to its usual shine just from seeing the old man. Though remembering what had happened last night and wanting to get an explanation out of the old man, Naruto really wanted to see a familiar and good face right now in the wake of his first kill.

Hiruzen was inwardly surprised to see the blond smiling like usual. His mask was almost perfect if not for the fact that Hiruzen had seen the emotional turmoil form last night. No one gets back up from killing easily and trying to look strong was tough for the first kills.

Naruto's eyes then bugged out as he yelled, "Oh crap, I forgot Iruka-sensei! Where is he?! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down Naruto. Iruka-san is fine," the aged leader of ninja's said with a raised hand to silence the boy. "He's in another room at the moment with a few scratches and wounds but he's fine. A couple of days off his feet and he'll bounce back."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. It would've been horrible if a precious person had died when he could've done something to-

_Clink!_

Naruto tensed, his ocean blue eyes glazing over as he started to lose all mobility of his body. He could see darkness growing over his eyes and the Hokage saying something before the black void fully claimed him.

Then…he caught a glimpse of—

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback…**_

_The once green grass obstructed and littered with the mangled bodies of the dead._

_Men._

_Women._

_Even young children strung about as if attacked by a wild beast. Their various body parts ripped apart from their main base in the same manner as a butcher carves a pig._

_I stood before the gathered masses of flesh. I looked on at the morbid scene of death with only confusion._ _I was young, barely only six years old. I knew nothing of the cold sensation of death or the mortality a person has._

_But now…_

_All I see are the people I've grown up with lying on the ground soaked in red._ _Well the parts of them I could see anyway._

_What was this?_ _What happened?_ _Why was everyone not moving?_ _Why were they so broken?_

_I suddenly came to a stop in front of the body of a barely alive young woman, her dark brown eyes open and staring at me with a haunted expression. There is a man standing behind her._

_He is a dark man with a red and black sword._ _The red was the same color as the red water that everyone else and the woman were covered in._

_This was the man who did it._

_This was someone that I should be afraid of._ _I wanted to run. I was scared of that man._ _But the lady was still here. I couldn't leave her behind._

_But I also couldn't move._

_I was…paralyzed by it all._

_The dark figure coming toward me with that blade._ _The light of the moon, shining so beautifully behind him._

_And the woman who lied before me, not as broken as the others but she didn't look very well._

"_NARUTO!"_

_Splash._

_Something warm and wet hit my face, coating my left eye red._ _It stung a bit._

_The man had struck. His aim was centered upon me and seeing it now, I would definitely be dead if it hit._

_But that woman stopped it._ _She was now standing before me, a crimson piece of metal lodged through her chest._

_I was…sad._

_This woman who had stood in front of me…_

_Who had the voice of a mother…the one that I called I**m*-kaasan._

_Soon she would be broken too…just like the others…_

_The motherly woman slowly raised a hand towards me and spoke._ _She sounded so small. Like a candle's flame: small and slowly dimming, I was still able to hear her last words._

"_Run…Naruto."_

_Her eyes then closed and I somehow knew it was the last time I would see them do that._

_Something within me snapped at that._ _Like a melting pot that was boiling over and the collective parts within were frothing over, I felt my insides building up with what felt like unlimited energy._

_As my eyes began to close from the pain of all that energy, the last thing that I would see was a flash of red and the faces of a mother and a monster._

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback over…**_

"Naruto? Naruto?! Are you alright?!"

I felt brought back when I heard that voice calling my name. It sounded familiar. Like that woman who protected me.

Slowly opening my eyes—ugh…I've been falling unconscious a lot lately—I found myself back in the hospital bed with Old Man Hokage standing over me.

Oh crap. He looked worried. Dammit, why did I black out like that?!

"Ugh…I'm fine Jiji." I said I sat up with a hand on my face.

My body didn't feel heavy, but my head did.

…Oh. I remember why.

I let my head dip down as my mind recollecting everything I saw when I passed out. Was that…a memory?

Who were those people? That monster? That woman?

"Naruto?"

I turned my head to see the old man who was still staring at me. Why did he look confused? And his eyes were focusing on some—

…Wait there's a tear going down my cheek.

"Naruto, what is wrong?" The old man asked.

I could tell that he was probably confused as hell since I'm doing a lot of weird things.

"Naruto…I don't know why you collapsed like that but if something is wrong, you can tell me. I'm here to listen."

I was glad to hear him say that. It was nice to have someone to listen and talk to. But…I'm not sure about this.

_Don't tell him._

Should I talk about the fact that I saw a bunch of people being butchered before me when I was only six?

Yeah, that's something I want to tell my grandfather figure after I had just woken up from almost killing my old school teacher.

…Why is there a lot of death following me lately?

_Death has always been with you. It's the closest thing a Shinobi has to a companion. While he may understand that there is still so much unknown. You do not need him jumping the gun and denying you something just because he was worried._

Yeah…I was still leery of telling him anything. I mean, sure he is Hokage-Jiji and I've been able to tell him a lot of things when I was younger but…

This is something I should definitely keep to myself. I need to figure it out on my own, just like everything else that I have done.

_Some things…are better left unsaid._

I feel bad thinking knowing that I will have to lie to Jiji but…I just can't shake this feeling. And if there has been one thing I've learned over the years it's that you should never doubt your feelings on something. Especially your gut instinct.

Sorry Jiji.

But…if I'm not going to talk about that I need a distraction. Something else that I need to focus on and that he'll buy. Okay, what can I say that's…oh.

I know one thing.

Actually I know a few things that I want to talk about and it's about time I got some answers.

"Jiji…we need to talk."

"…Yes. I believe there is much to talk about."

Turning to look him in the eye, I saw what looked like an illusion. Somehow the Sandaime's face looked like he had just aged by a decade. He looked tired. So very tired.

"If I may have the first question, Naruto?" He asked politely. I nodded. "Where did you're skills come from? While I may have had an idea that you were holding back a few things in the Academy, I still did not have a correct estimate."

"As far as I'm concerned, the Academy was a joke. The training I had before I came to Konoha was miles ahead of it. The earliest I can remember is at six."

"Six?!" He looked shocked at my explanation.

"What's the big deal? Don't clan kids get training at a young age?"

"Well…not that young. At least not since the War-times but I do suspect that some clans still adopt that particular age as the starting point."

"Well lucky me, that I wasn't treated any different for wanting to learn something." I think there was some bitterness in my tone, judging from the old man's flinch.

"Well you don't have to worry about me being an enemy in disguise. The one who trained me is most likely dead now."

"What? How?" Wait he didn't know?

"You mean you didn't find any information?" Jiji shook his head in response. You mean even they couldn't find whoever that person was.

"Well I'm sure you guys already know about my hospital thing right?"

"Ah yes, you were in a coma at the time. But what does—" He stopped. It looked like he was doing some quick thinking in his head. Soon his face paled and his eyes went wide with horror and fear.

He focused back on me.

"Naruto…"

"Yeah. I nearly died in that accident. I don't remember what happened but I can tell that there was a lot of death and the one who trained me died before I got taken down. I don't remember who did it either."

I was annoyed at the blanks in my memory.

"The most I can remember is sometime before the incident and some physical descriptions."

"Really?"

"Yeah. As far back as I can remember, it was a guy. About close to thirty. Oh and he was bald."

"Do you believe that he knew about your status as a Jinchūriki or anything else?"

"As far as I know he probably didn't care and just went back to training me how to dodge shuriken and how to kill people." I replied with a shrug.

Jiji grimaced. Looks like he wasn't comfortable with the idea of me taking lives at a young age.

"Naruto…have you…"

"Killed people? Yes." He flinched again. Sorry if it hurts Jiji but it's the truth. Nothing can change that.

"My turn, how long have you known about me?"

"Unfortunately what Mizuki said regarding Konoha was true. We only learned about the Kyūbi's chakra a few years ago but myself and a select few knew that you had become its Jinchūriki that night. And when Asuma brought you here, I could tell that who you were."

"And yet you didn't say anything?"

The old man grimaced. "I take full responsibility for not saying anything. When you came in, your act was very convincing Naruto. You really seemed like a normal if delinquent boy with no clue of your past. I didn't want to shatter your world view by telling you the truth.

I wanted you to hold onto that innocence for just awhile longer."

I didn't say anything at first. I just looked at my hands as I clenched and unclenched them. I can understand what he was saying. If a kid had a big secret that he didn't know and he looked happy without it, I would feel bad that to tell him about it. But that's where the buck stops.

I would still tell him. Maybe not then but soon.

And most of all I wouldn't play ignorant about it. I would tell him that I do know but until he was ready to handle it.

"Sorry to say Jiji but that innocence was fake. Nothing more than a basic Shinobi mask to see how things would work here. And even if had been real well, let's just say that the fight with Mizuki would've been very different if I had been ignorant."

My eyes met his.

"I don't regret using that mask Jiji. Knowing what I do now, it the best decision to make. It was so easy to play the delinquent fool and make all those idiots feel so much better about themselves knowing that the Demon brat they hated so much had to struggle for what he wanted. Even if he fought back there was nothing to fear with him being sealed and the entire Konoha Ninja Corp ready to put him down if need be.

They all assumed they had that power. And they still do. All because they don't have it in them to tell the difference between a kid and a Beast."

I was angry. Angry at the lies told to me. Angry at the delusions I had to make to move around in this place. Angry that I had put myself in a corner of few to trust when it came to those with power, whether because of being a Jinchūriki or with Jiji because I didn't trust him.

This doesn't change the fact that I want to punch all of those who tried to hurt me in the face for holding a grudge for so long. I am not a Gigantic Demon Fox of DOOM about kill anyone. Hell if I was a GDFoD, then it would suck to be them as I would've killed them if they tried anything or than ignoring me.

That's not just the Demon Fox talking, that's a natural reaction that I'm sure anyone would've done.

But all I did was pranks, so there.

I still had little reason to do so now.

My life as I know it still had a lot of things hidden and people have been keeping secrets that are very crucial about me from me. I wanted to know them. I had to.

I needed my questions answered.

After a moment of silence, Jiji drew himself up and spoke once more.

"Well then, since it's out of the bag, if there is anything else you wish to know I will tell you. I promise to tell the truth Naruto and earn even a slither of your trust. It is the least I could do. Though I would like to know when you found out about it. Did your former teacher tell you?"

"…If I had to guess I'd say yes. I learned some Fūinjutsu from him so he definitely knew about it." I paused for a second as a thought came to me. "Jiji…about the Kyūbi?"

"Yes?"

"I just met it."

If there was a moment where I think I gave the old man a heart attack, it would probably be right now.

"Y-you met the Kyūbi? Just now of all times?" He rasped trying to get his breathing under control while I patted his back.

"Pretty much. I don't think I've ever talked to it before seeing how surprised it was to see me." I told him while sitting back on the bed with my arms crossed. "He also told me that I wasn't the first container he's had. Is that true?"

The old man paused for a moment, as if considering something. He was definitely better trained at being a Shinobi than a lot of people I've seen. I couldn't tell what he was thinking even by looking at his face.

After another moment, he said, "Yes. There have been a total of two Jinchūriki before you."

"And yet people still give me crap over it?"

I gave him a look and he looked sheepish, "Yours' is a special case unfortunately. While the other two had been Containers, they're identities had never been revealed inside or outside the village except for a select few."

"So…," I was in student mode. This…this was just too important not to listen to. "…who were the other two?"

Jiji gave off that "older than he looks" aura again while his face clenched up. Almost like he was trying to make a hard decision. Soon he gave off another sigh.

"Naruto, that brings me to another matter of great importance. I need you to listen to all I have to say before you ask any questions. You will not like the answers but they are all I can give at this time.

Do you understand?"

I paused to stare at the Old Man. I could already tell that I wouldn't like the answers even if I don't know what they are yet.

But…I need to know.

Anything. Something. Just let me know what my parents thought of me before they died. Please, even for good or bad, just let me know so that I can finally know.

I nodded to Jiji and he began to explain.

"Naruto, the second Kyūbi Jinchūriki...was your mother."

"WHAT?!"

What the hell did he mean?! My mom was a Jinchūriki?! What kind of BULLS&%T IS THIS?!

"Quiet down Naruto!" Jiji shouted back and for a second, I thought about taking him down. This was…This was…

"This is a discussion between us. No one else must know, so please calm down."

I bite back a reply. I needed to calm down for now. I wanted to learn about my parents and this might be the only time. I can't let that be stopped just because I got angry.

"As you no doubt know, the Kyūbi, or all Bijū in this case, have been around for longer than any of us know. They are phantasmal beasts that are as powerful as nature and most likely immortal in nature. So it stands to reason that unfortunately we humans can never defeat them in contests of power.

To circumvent this, Shinobi have utilized Fūinjutsu and sealed those Bijū to save ourselves from destruction should they ever come near.

However a side-effect of this was the Jinchūriki. Not all of them survived long in their terms as containers. But those that do, with enough time and training, could utilize the abilities of their Bijū and become Super Powers on the battlefield and war deterrents. Soon all the Shinobi villages began to target the beasts and collect them, sacrificing many lives to succeed.

At this moment, all the Bijū are sealed."

Yep and just like before I didn't like it. Shinobi from Hidden Villages tried to make more of me just so that they can have a bunch of strong people in their army while that lone person has to suffer with mistreatment and being treated as something to be tossed aside.

The old man sighed and rubbed his head.

"I know that this is hard to take in but this has things been for the last century. When it comes to war, the one that has the best of something, anything, could change the way it goes.

In this case, the Bijū managed to tip the scales and cause utter chaos for everyone.

So for the utmost care when handling Bijū and Jinchūriki, the Kages utilized unique seals made by a clan who studied Fūinjutsu the most out of all clans in history but more on that later."

Wow. Sealing whole Bijūs? Sounds like an awesome clan.

"Back when I was young, there was a point in history where a great battle took place between the strongest ninja of Konoha at the Valley of the End.

Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

In that battle, Madara was defeated and the Shodaime Hokage sealed Kyūbi who had been controlled by Madara."

"Oh yeah. I remember reading that." I interrupted. "How did that Madara guy control the giant fox of doom? I know that the Shodaime did it with that Wood thing but how did he do it?"

Jiji shrugged.

"Apparently the Uchiha clan had certain abilities beyond what we have recorded about them that made them able to do this. I believe the Senju clan had something similar which would add to the idea that these two clans were the most powerful and the most battles with each other."

The power to control giant monsters made of Chakra is in Sasuke's clan. Why does that terrify me?

_**It shouldn't. Though wretched that clan may be, they don't stand a chance against you, Bakemono.**_

I'm going to blissfully ignore that for now. Jiji was still talking

"I myself am only privy to this information due to studies into the past of many ninja clans and being Hokage. During my reign, I helped make the transfer of the Kyūbi to Uzumaki Kushina from Mito-sama."

"Kushina? That's my mom's name?" He nodded to me and I felt warmth in my stomach. A name. I finally had a name to go to on. Now if I only ha—wait a sec.

"Mito?"

"Senju Uzumaki Mito? The wife of the Shodaime?" I was blank faced at his words. "I could've sworn that was in the curriculum for Konoha History."

I don't know what he said after that. I was stuck on that last part he mentioned. Senju Uzumaki Mito? You cannot be serious?

"You mean we really are related?"

"Yes. You are related distantly by blood through your Mother…and your clan."

"…What?"

"The Uzumaki clan. A clan from back during the warring days before the establishment of the Hidden Villages. They were a tenacious clan known for their creation and use of Fūinjutsu, Longevity, High Vitality, and having Red Hair."

…Again, what?

We stared back at each other for a long time. I was blank in the face. He was stoic and tense, as if preparing for me to snap off or go crazy. Smart man.

Seriously, first my mother turns out to be a Container for a Chakra Monster too? Then I learn that the Shodaime, the village founder's wife was also container? And now I have a clan that both used to come from?

What's next my father being…oh you have got to be screwing with me?

"Going back to my parents, can I take a guess at something?" Sandaime-Jiji nodded but still looked tense.

"Is my father the guy whose Mountain face I made look like a drag queen?"

…He turned his face away.

"OH COME THE F&%K ON! SERIOUSLY?!"

"Well you wanted the truth and seeing as you already know one, you should learn about the others. Though I do hope you exercise better discretion than just yelling your problems out."

I didn't think I could ever have a stronger urge to hit the elderly.

"Ahem, well then let's get back on subject. As I said, Kushina was the Jinchūriki at the time. However the night of your birth something went horribly wrong. Someone broke the seal your Mother had and unleashed the Kyūbi upon our home. Your parents, Minato and Kushina, did all that they could to protect not only you but every man, woman, and child of Konoha just like many who lost their lives that night.

The sealing of the Kyūbi into you was something that should never have happened but…well this was how things turned out.

Kushina died using the last of her strength to stop the Kyūbi from killing you. I was there to bear witness to her stopping that Chakra Beast's gigantic claw all with her own strength. If there was ever a case where I was told the strength of a woman and a mother was a powerful thing, then that moment was definitely it."

He said with a fond smile.

I was just mesmerized at the idea that anyone would be strong enough to stop the Kyūbi from doing anything. Hearing that _my_ Mom actually accomplished it was something else.

"Your father…well he completed the sealing but before anything else could happen, he took you and disappeared."

I blinked. He took me away from Konoha? That's why I grew up somewhere else?

"If I was to hazard a guess, I believe that like you, he did not believe that things would be right for you growing up after such a major tragedy. Back then I would've liked to have proved him wrong, but here and now, he has shown me that I was wrong…and most likely too naïve.

I too was in grieving after the tragedy having lost my wife but I had to shoulder those feelings since with Minato dead from the sealing, I had to retake my responsibilities as acting Hokage. I had to be strong for the village especially after the lengthy War that we had just ended only sometime before.

I won't make excuses for my bad judgments Naruto. I should have remembered that not everyone shares the ideology of the "Will of Fire" like my teachers and I do. Especially civilians. And yet even knowing that, I still would've had you stay here in what would've become hostile territory for you since I believed in this village and its people.

Something Minato, in the end, did not have and he was correct for his judgment."

Jiji paused to take a breath and gave me a smile. It wasn't a happy one.

"But make no mistake Naruto, you were the one they cherished the most and they died protecting you. Never forget that."

The room was quite as I turned my head away to stare out the window. It was still around noon, since the sun was at the highest point in the sky and would soon start setting.

The day looked like it was a pretty good one to walk around and maybe talk to friends.

Or maybe spend some time with family.

…Family.

I felt my chest clench at the word. I lost my first one because of someone letting the Kyūbi out. I lost my second one because of someone attacking them.

_Naruto…I finally get to see you…_

_Run…Naruto…_

_Grow…Naruto…grow and survive._

I feel slightly warm.

Twice now I fleetly recall voices. Three of them.

The first two voices of women who were close to me. The ones that warm and wanted me to be happy.

The voices…of mothers.

The other was the voice of a man. He sounds like he wants to give me a direction, a goal. He didn't have that much warmth that the other two had but it was there.

They protected me…and lost their lives in the process…

"To protect someone…," I suddenly said, "…even on the pain of death…that's really something.

Right? Jiji?"

"…That is true Naruto. I can say with one hundred percent certainty that a mother's true love is shown greatest when she protects her young."

…Wow…that sounds great. My mom…both of them…they protected me. They cared for me.

My parents…Kushina and Minato…they did all they could to save me from the fox. Even though it's sealed within me, I've never felt it before.

No great rage. No dark power. It was just…me.

Uzumaki Naruto, prankster king and Genin of Konoha.

And…both my parents gave their lives to make sure it was like that.

Then…I can't doubt that now. While I don't know a lot about sealing and Bijū's, right here and right now, I know it's only me in here.

Even with that voice last night…I don't think that was the Kyūbi. It didn't feel evil or whatever bad feeling a demon fox should have.

It felt…normal.

I probably shouldn't count it as that but that's what it felt like. I clenched my fists once again. I feel my old confidence roaring to the top of my head.

Urges to kill aside, I knew who I was.

"Well, I guess I at least know more now." I finally said.

"There's still a lot of information I'm missing that I'd like to know. What was the accident that nearly killed me? What kind of places did I go to train? What was I truly like?

But for now, I'm putting them off."

I stood up from the bed and looked Jiji in the eye, feeling my old confidence coming back.

"Because here and now, I have things to do. I'm still a Shinobi who wants to become strong. And while I don't like Konoha that much, I still made a promise to my family that I would become strong and to do that, if I have to stay here for as long as I can then I will.

And now that I know I'm part of a clan, well…I want to make them proud. I want to show up all those non-believers and assholes that gave me problems.

For my parents who gave their lives to do it.

For the people in Konoha that I know and want to protect.

And for myself, to make my parents proud and to prove that this cool person right here, right now, is who I truly am."

I raised a hand to Jiji who looked back in confusion.

"So despite what's happened in the past, I'm willing to be a Genin of Konoha and the last member of the Uzumaki clan. And I'm going to keep the Fox in check so no one gets hurt by it again. But to do this, I'm going to need a lot of help. Not just fixing up my clan name but making something of myself as well.

Can I count on your help for this Jiji?

He stared at me for a moment longer, as if trying to judge how much of what I said was true. Before long, a wide smile blossomed on his face.

"I believe that arrangement can be met, Naruto." He took my hand and shook it.

Soon I smiled too.

I am going to become the greatest ninja ever in the memory of the people who brought me here. Even if they're not with me right here and now, I will still keep going on.

Just watch me.

It was good to know that I had another person who believed me. Now I've got so many more.

Like…

_A man with a scar across his nose throws a piece of chalk at my head._

Iruka-sensei.

_An old man with a chef's hat hands me a bowl of ramen and laughs when I scarf it down._ _A teenage girl ruffles my head as she teases me._

Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-chan.

_Another old man with a long mustache sits in front of me and sternly tells me to take it easy. An older woman looks at me with a smile as she helps put on a bandage._

Sougen-Jiji and Tokie-chan.

_A family of three is sitting in the back of their house with me eating some watermelon and watching the stars._

The Arima family.

_Sitting in the warm grass and doing nothing but talking as the time went by, the beautiful woman with the red hair smiles at me while helping me rebuild who I am._

And Sensei.

They were all behind me and I would not let them down.

"Hey, Jiji when can I get outta here?"

The old man chuckled. What? It's not my fault I don't like being in the cramped and smelly place.

"Well if you're all healed up, I'll inform the head office to discharge you today. Tomorrow I want you to stop by my office. There is more for us to discuss."

The Old man then looked at the clocked. Guess he's gotta get back to work.

"Be sure to head to academy for the team registrations next week and come to the Tower tomorrow so we can get your ninja ID picture. Also I will be happy to talk more about the Uzumaki clan with you."

"Got it Jiji."

I watched the old man leave as he closed the door. "Oh," he suddenly said, "And do let Sougen-san and Tokie-san know that you're about to leave. They've been worried about you."

And with that, he left.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Later that Night…**_

_**Naruto's Home…**_

Well today was crazy.

I had good parents that died to save me, one of which used to hold the DFoD before I did. I had another family that raised me but was killed off. I've still got a big case of memory block so I still don't remember where I was when I was a kid. But hopefully when I get out there in the world, I'll learn a bit more.

But now that all that crazy stuff yesterday was done, I could get started on other things. Like getting into extreme training.

Since I had to keep a certain type of profile, I hadn't been able to get into some of the stronger techniques I managed to remember after my accident. Since Academy Students shouldn't know that much Jutsu, especially if they're orphans, if anyone caught me practicing, I would've found my self heading straight to an interrogation or worse.

But now, that I'm a certified Genin, I don't have to worry…as much. I still plan on keeping them a secret for awhile.

And now it was time to get started.

Opening a floorboard hidden under my bed, I pulled out a sealing scroll. The cover for it was black and orange with a red swirl that I wore on my tracksuit keeping it closed. Good to know I had similar tastes for color before I lost my memory. Opening the scroll, I saw a wide variety of letters written in a code that I would recognize immediately but for someone reading from a regular book, they wouldn't get it.

In the middle of it looked like a bigger version swirl of that but instead of ink, it was written in blood.

Huh. So I knew blood seals back then as well. Just as it sounded, blood seals were made from the user's blood to bind their seals as an extra security measure so that no one else could read them. This was definitely an important scroll to me then.

Taking a small bite on my thumb to draw some blood, I pressed it onto the blood seal. Okay that was easy enough.

Now for some chakra.

Calling up my reserves, I realize again that I have way too much chakra.

…Okay. Let's calm down. Deep breathes, Naruto. Deep breathes.

Alright I've already got the power around me so…let's try slowing it down a bit. Just try to bring out the lowest I can.

…Still feels like a bit much.

Let's try again.

…Nope.

…Nope.

…Dammit, why do I have so much power?!

Okay one more time. Just…a…little…

Okay. Now hold it there…and try to move it.

Now… focus to my hands.

Just…don't force it…

Just feel it and…push…

It felt like a whirlwind spiraling down my arm.

I never really paid attention to how my chakra worked back in the academy since it seemed so simple.

Though it was pretty easy to do the Kawamiri_**, **_Henge_**,**_ and my Orioke since all I needed to do was just use my chakra and do it. I never even noticed that there was a sensation of chakra leaving my system since it was pretty small compared to what I had in full, now that I think about it.

But since I had so much that I couldn't fully focus it, I struggled to get the right amount for that Bunshin Jutsu.

It's kinda cool to know that I got a lot of power but it sucks that it could've stopped me from being a ninja. Sounds like a crappy trade-off.

Wait wasn't I doing something?

**BAM!**

What the hell?!

Where'd all this smoke come from?!

_***Cough. Cough.***_

Did I overdo it again?

After I cleared the smoke I was a bit surprised to see a bunch of stuff had come out of the seal. I thought it would just be a couple of small things, like some money or…well I don't really know what to expect but to be fair, I didn't think it would be a lot.

The first thing I noticed was a small stack of scrolls. From the looks of them, they might be more sealing scrolls or maybe…just maybe some ninja scrolls. That would be great!

Next was…a couple of…books? Huh. Didn't think I'd have any.

Some rope. A lot of rope. That's weird.

A stack of—Holy crap, look at that money?! It's gotta be like…I don't know how much but I know where it's gonna go! Looks like Gama-chan's gonna need a brother.

Some picture frames? I had pictures? I'll look through them in a bit.

Some clothing, probably from where I used to be.

And…

I stopped when I saw the small object that was in the middle of the other items as if it was the main attraction.

It was…a tanto.

About seven to eight-inches long with a three inch grip.

The sheath along with the hilt was painted red. Crimson red that strangely reminded me of blood.

…That's not a good thing by the way.

Picking it up—it strangely felt…right in my hands. Like…something of a friend or partner that I've been separated from for so long—I took the sheath off.

The blade itself was silver white, edging on gray, with a pointed tip.

I stared at the blade in my right hand and took it into a reverse grip. This felt… good. Switching back to the forward grip, I did some test swipes.

Now that I remember, I liked fighting with either Kunai or my bare hands.

Taking the tanto into both hands, I looked over it over again and realized that something was carved onto it.

My thumb traced over the small engraving.

It read…"Kyuutsuki."

Nine Moons…

Placing the tanto back into its sheath and putting it back on the bed; I went for the picture frame next and picked it up.

The photo showed a much younger me, around five or so, dressed in a dark blue kimono and standing in the middle giving a piece sign and a goofy smile on my face.

Standing next to my left was a girl that looked like she was older than me by a couple of years with neck length purple-black hair and the same colored eyes but with a brownish tint, wearing a light purple yukata and a small smile on her face.

She looked very cute.

To my right was another older girl. She was also very cute but wasn't smiling like the purple girl. She had pale white skin that reminded me of snow with short black hair that went to her neck and equally black eyes.

Kinda reminded me of Sasuke from the way she looked so quiet. Her yukata was dark red.

Behind us are four older people.

Two of them are probably the parents of the black haired girl since the mom looks like an older version of her and the two men next to her look like the father and a teenage older brother.

On my left side was another couple with a woman who looked a lot like the purple haired girl. So those were her parents.

And to my right is…the woman that I saw in that memory!

I almost dropped the photo in shock but instead held it closer to my chest.

That woman…She was the one Dad brought me to…she took me in and raised me.

She was my family. Maybe even the other were a part of that family too.

…And now they're dead.

I put the picture on my dresser and leave it for now. There's other stuff I have to go over.

The next things I look over are the books.

They turned out to be a storybook called "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja" written by some guy named Jiraiya. Probably worth a good read so I'll look through it later.

Now for those scrolls. Just as I hoped, the scrolls turned out to be a couple of Jutsu scrolls and some that described charka exercises. Not looking forward to more chakra control but whatcha gonna do?

Lastly I turned to the clothing.

To be honest, it looked pretty cool. Like a training gi. It was kinda small, like something an eight year old would wear. It was a black shirt with long sleeves. Long sleeves that would probably cover up the whole hand with that swirl on the back. Some slightly baggy black pants and a pair black shoes, not like the open toed sandals I usually wear.

Also included a burnt orange sash! Awesome! I've always loved orange!

But what was with all this black?

I mean yeah it's an okay color but this seems a bit much. It's all dreary and lacking life. Sometime this week, I'll see if I can get a new copy of this. One in my size.

There was one last package. Inside was a ribbon. A simple red ribbon. If I had to guess it definitely belonged to a girl. Someone that I don't remember.

Well that was another clue that I had no clue about.

But when I held it in my hand, I clenched it as something within me ached.

Was this from someone else that I had forgotten? Were they still alive? And would they be angry with me for taking so long…

…So this is all I have of my past life?

A life where I was probably happy and had a family to come home to? Where I had more precious people?

And now they're all dead and I was found by a Shinobi.

I'm sorry that I can't remember you all. I don't know what happened or why my memory is gone…but I promise. I promise you all that I will become stronger and make sure that any new people that I want to protect won't ever die.

And I swear it upon my name that I'll make sure that you guys are never forgotten again.

Watch out Konoha.

Watch out world.

Because I'm a ninja of Konoha now and I'll make sure everyone remembers the name…

Uzumaki Naruto, Shinobi of the Uzumaki clan.

Chapter 2 end

**Next time:**

_The next stage is set._

_Uzumaki prepares for the next step._

"_**So it is with pride that I, Sarutobi Hiruzen Sandaime Hokage, award you, Uzumaki Naruto, another headband with the rank of Genin. After all you can't represent us that well if you walk around with a scratched one."**_

_In both Physical and Mental._

_The training begins._

_**So why was it when I turned to look at him, I felt like I felt like running away?**_

_As the days go by, the road to the future gets clearer._

"_**All of you come at me…like you want to kill me."**_

_**BA-BUMP.**_

_But how long can those peaceful days last?_

_**Kyuutsuki Chapter 3**_

_**Practice makes Improvement**_

AJ Katon out.


	3. Practice makes Improvement

Kyuutsuki No Uzumaki

By

AJ Katon

Disclaimer: I do not own Natsu-verse series or Naruto seeing as they belong to their respective owners. I do own the various OC's that may be introduced later on.

_Arc 1: Maelstrom Konoha_

_Chapter 3: Practice makes Improvement _

_I was busy looking out at the moon tonight. Tonight I caught another full moon. It was strangely pretty for something completely white. Much better than those weird times when it would go Red. I never understood what it was but whenever it was full I'd get this urge to go out and look at it until I was called back. I've done this ever since I could walk on my own and if I could, I'd like to do it for the rest of my life._

_But that didn't mean that I could just go out on my own and get a look. I had to stay close to the compound so that no one had to waste time trying to find me in the woods._

_I feel like I wouldn't get lost though. I was smart enough to get around easily enough. _

"_Naruto." A light voice called from behind me._

_I smiled when I heard her voice. She was one the nicest person out the clan, even if she was usually with him._

_I shivered thinking about his face. It wasn't that he was a bad guy; it was that he was just so…cold. Whenever he talked, it was always so…dulled out. Like he didn't really have any life in him._

_How do you get like that?_

_Plus he never really looked at me. Out of all the times I've walked around the home and the grounds, he was always somewhere else. It's as if he was trying to avoid me._

"_It's time to go home. ****-sama wants you in bed early. We have company arriving soon and he wants you to be presentable."_

_She said walking towards me, her footsteps barely heard on the soft grass._

"_Aww but I've only been here for a couple of minutes." I said crossing my arms and looking annoyed as I turned to face her._

_She was very pretty in my opinion. Her skin was like the moon and her hair was short and for some reason seemed to be natural in the dark. Almost like I couldn't tell the difference between them._

_She giggled at me and replied, "You've been here for half an hour, silly." Really? That long…nuts._

"_Fine. But next time, I wanna get at least an hour." I pointed a finger to the sky for my bargain. Gotta look cool and dramatic if you want people to listen to you. _

_At least that's what that weird guy in hood said the last time he was here._

"_That's something that you'll have to discuss with *i**-sama. He is our—"_

"_Clan head and as the "Big Head" we gotta listen to what he says," I cut her off, feeling annoyed. I don't see why going outside would need his say-so. It's just right outside in the back._

_Only took a couple of steps to get to._

"_Big Head?" She looked at me in confusion. "Where on Gaia did you learn such…oh never mind. I believe I already know." She muttered as she pinched her nose._

_What? It's not like it's not true._

"_Annoying clown…Naruto, you mustn't take any lessons from that man seriously." She told me while grabbing my hand. Her hand felt so much bigger than mine. It was nice and warm too._

_I hope that when I get older my hands are that big and warm._

_I don't want them to end up like his._

"_But it sounds right doesn't it? He usually acts like he has one. Besides I don't think he really likes me anyway."_

"_K**i-sama can be hard to approach at times but deep inside there is a side that cares. He is just…very different from others."_

_She sighed and turned to look at me. For a second it looked like she was very sad._

"_Despite all that, he does care about you Naruto. You are the son that he…never had."_

_There was something that I wasn't getting. I know that *zu**-kaasan was sad about something. Something important. _

_But whatever it was, I didn't know._

_I have to say something._

"_Well, I guess. But at least I have you right, I**mi-kaasan. If I've got both of you, then it's all good for me."_

_I smiled at her. I wanted her to know that whatever bad thing happened, I still think she was awesome. The smile she gave back to me was amazing._

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

Mn. What the…

Oh. It was just another…wait. That woman! She was the same one that…that protected me. Her name was…dammit. It's on the back of my mind but I still can't get the full name.

Stupid Amnesia.

Well since I'm up anyway, I might as well get ready for the day.

Walking to the kitchen while scratching my stomach, I thought about how I was going to go through this week. Before the team assignments that Jiji told me about, I have to get into heavy duty training and make sure I get better before I go on missions.

But first I gotta get to Jiji's place to get my ninja ID. Now what should I wear?

_Knock. Knock._

Hm?

I walked to the front door and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me Naruto-kun. I brought some breakfast." Ayame's voice calls back.

"Really?" I unlocked the door and low and behold, it was my favorite ramen waitress. Well she's the only ramen waitress I knew but that pretty much made her my favorite.

She was taller than me but only for a couple of inches. That white hat of hers helped a bit but it feels like cheating. Her hair and eyes were the same color of dark brown and her face was one of the prettiest I've ever seen in my life.

She was still wearing her white waitress outfit so she and old man Teuchi had probably finished setting everything up for the lunch rush. There was a small bag in her hand and from the lack of delicious broth and noodle smell; I could tell that this was going to be a regular breakfast.

Not that I'm complaining.

"Hey Ayame. It's been awhile since I last saw you." I smiled at my older sister figure as I stepped back to let her in.

Ayame smiled back as she walked in and set the ingredients on the table. I could see some eggs, bacon, and some orange juice carton. Nice. She moved toward the kitchen and gathered the needed cooking supplies to get started. It was kinda scary how easily she managed to get everything set up so quickly as if she owned the place.

Well it technically feels that way since she has come over to cook many times over the years.

"Well I have been going back to school so my work time's not as big as it used to be." She said as she set up a cooking pan and oil on the stove. She then smirked at me.

"But if you miss me so much, you could just sneak in and see me. Being a ninja and all."

…Well I could get in with a Henge…

As the time went by, I sat back in a chair and watched Ayame cook. It was one of the many things that I was thankful to have despite the few years of dirty looks I've had here in Konoha. It felt like I was just a natural guy watching his girl—

I blushed when that particular thought came to mind.

Okay while I felt that Ayame was the big sister figure I wished I had, I couldn't get rid of the obvious problems and why that image couldn't hold up forever. Heck it couldn't even hold up anymore.

First was the obvious fact that I wasn't really related to her and Teuchi at all. While we may act like it, that obvious fact still feels like a big wall that I can't do anything about. I may not like that fact but I'm working around it.

Second was the fact that I now know what the main problem about why people treated me so bad when I was younger. I'm still gonna do what I can to keep the Kyūbi no Yōko from harming anyone and I'm still kinda annoyed at the fact that nobody thought about telling me about this until now but the fact remains. I have a monster in my gut that I don't know practically anything about. Ayame and the others could be in danger so long as I don't figure out everything I can about the seal and any problems along the way.

Finally—

"Na~ruto~."

"Geh!" Hot Breath! Hot breath right in my ear!

"It isn't nice to ignore a girl when she's talking to you, Naruto-kun. It makes them feel ignored~."

She whispered into my ear. It felt like tiny little sparks were going straight down my spine and spreading throughout my body. My heart began pounding weirdly. Like one second it wants to go faster than I ever thought it could but then it just stops.

No reason why. It just does.

I feel hands. A hand on my shoulder and the other on my chest. Wait there's only one finger there and moving around in a circle.

Oh boy.

"Ne," She breathed before nipping at my ear, "Naruto-kun~."

_**Kawamiri no Jutsu!**_

"I-I GOTTA GET CHANGED!" I yelled to her as I ran into the bathroom leaving Ayame with a training dummy. God I feel like a coward. Oh and that's the last reason I can't consider Ayame a big sister figure anymore. The teasing. The strange but sexy teasing.

I'm not sure my young vir—uh, my young heart can take it.

"Ugh…not much I can do about that anyway. Considering everything that's happened." I sighed before going to the sink to wash my face.

…Maybe a nice cold shower would help too.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

After breakfast and changing—with Ayame grumping about no breakfast and a show. Jeez that girl. Anyway, Ayame left to go to the civilian school while I marched towards the Hokage tower.

Walking through the street, I couldn't help but wonder what else the old man could tell me about this Uzumaki clan or my parents. Or maybe there are some pointers on being a Jinchūriki he could let me in on.

I hope he doesn't ask me anything about what happened with Mizuki. I wouldn't even know what to say if he did ask.

Passing by the secretary, Himiko I think was her name, I gave her a wave and smile that she returned with an absent nod. Luckily she wasn't a one of _them_. She was mostly bored and treated everyone the same unless it was directly important to the Hokage. She'd seen me enough to know to just let me in when I came to visit.

Though she did seem to be staring at me for a bit.

I knocked on the wooden door to the Hokage's office. A second later I heard a "come in" and walked inside. The Hokage office was big. It was even wider than my whole apartment put together. To the sides, there was a full cupboard of papers and books that I don't even want to think about looking at and a small couch that was for visitors. The Kage's desk was right in the far end of the room in the middle with a large window behind it.

"What did you want to talk about Jiji?" I asked as I stood in front of his desk.

"Well Naruto I wanted to talk more about what happened last night. Please have a seat. And may I say, that is mighty fine clothing you have."

"Thanks. I got it recently." I said as I sat on the couch in his office.

"Now as it was stated you only snuck in here and stole the scroll due to Mizuki promising you that if you did and learned a technique from it, he would let you be put on the roster for up and coming Chūnin by way of a secret exam. Unfortunately since there is no secret exam, his word is false. And if this were any other time, I would've had to pull you from your graduation and fire you from the Ninja Corp."

Oh crap. Am I really fired? Was it really over and done before I even got to do anything?

"However, I have decided not to."

"Huh?"

"I said I will not fire you. While I would've liked it if you questioned the validity of such an exam, I can understand you trusting your sensei in the first place so that part is overlooked. Also I have to commend you for being able to sneak pass my guards and succeeding in making off with the scroll. All this tells me that you were more than qualified to be a Shinobi.

The fact that you learned a B-ranked Jutsu is just a bonus for yourself.

So it is with pride that I, Sarutobi Hiruzen: Sandaime Hokage, award you, Uzumaki Naruto, another headband with the rank of Genin. After all you can't represent us that well if you walk around with a scratched one."

Huh. So that's where my headband went to.

When he was done, Sandaime-jiji pulled a new Leaf headband with a black sash and passed it to me. Wow…man was that close! I really thought I was done for a second there.

I took the new, and way cooler, headband and immediately tied it to my forehead.

Nothing can get rid of the smile on my face. I was able to get rewarded for all my hard work at the Academy and get the headband to prove it.

"Naruto."

Not only that but when I almost got in trouble and fired, I managed to save my butt and not get fired. I even got a new headband out of the deal.

"Naruto."

Nothing can stop me now. First Genin level. Then, with hopefully no fake tests, Chūnin. Then Jōnin. I'm on my way to the to—

"NARUTO!"

Yipe! Oh, where you saying something?

Biting back a sigh, The Old Man decided to move on, "Now Naruto as a ninja of Konoha, I expect you to do well and make your fellow ninja proud. And since you are now one of the few that can use the Kage Bunshin so effectively, I expect you to use it right. Given its drawback."

There was a drawback? Like wh—oh wait. "You mean that whole memory thing? Like last night when my clone died and I felt it?"

"That's correct. The Kage Bunshin is a B-rank jutsu due to the act that when it is used the person making the Jutsu uses about half of their chakra reserves to create a single clone. The clones are mostly used for information gathering and infiltration but they can perform certain ninjutsu on their own by sacrificing the chakra used to make them.

For anyone under Jōnin-class it is a dangerous technique and could result in severe chakra exhaustion and even death. There's also the **Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** **(**_Mass Shadow Clone Technique)_."

"What about it?" I asked titling my head to the side.

"So I was right in my assumption that you read that one too. Though it doesn't surprise me, given your use of it when you proceeded to test it out on Mizuki."

I smiled. Heh. Greatest moment ever.

"However that technique has a much larger due to the creation of more clones. So be sure to watch how you dispel them or you could end up a vegetable."

"Understood, Jiji."

The old man nodded as he took a moment to bring out his pipe for a smoke. As he inhaled and let the weird smoke out, he began to speak again.

"Now that that is out of the way, I believe there is one more thing we must discuss. The Uzumaki clan."

I sat up straight. This is what was important. I now have a clan. Well another clan anyway but at least this one I can learn about.

"As I said yesterday, the Uzumaki clan was one of the oldest Shinobi clans known before the time of the founding of Konoha. They were stationed in **Uzushiogakure no Sato** (_Village Hidden by Whirling Tides_) which was located in **Uzu no Kuni** (_Land of Whirlpools_), which used to be an island country that rested near a whirlpool off the coast of Hi no Kuni."

I stared at him. Really?

"Yes. A real whirlpool." He replied somehow reading my look. "A true testament to their strength being able to create and manipulate whirlpools to defend themselves. They were powerful in their own right and they owed this to two things: their High Vitality, which would explain why you are able to elude your captors even after hours and hours of chasing."

He gave me a small smirk, probably remembering the times I embarrassed the Chūnin, Genin, and even a couple of Jōnin of Konoha.

"Their other great asset was Fūinjutsu. The Uzumaki were the greatest users of the art. They were even the ones that made the seals for the Bijū. However they were eventually destroyed due to their prowess."

"What?" A whole clan dead. Another potential family dead. That seems to be happening a lot lately.

"There was never been a clear answer as to how it happened but sometime during the Second Shinobi World War, Uzushiogakure was destroyed and the survivors scattered across the world. We have some guesses primarily of Kumogakure and Kirigakure since they were the closest to do damage to the Village.

Your mother had come to Konoha before Uzu's destruction to become the next Jinchūriki and only learned about it sometime later. Even after all these years, we who remember them still hope to honor the Uzumaki. We even wear the clan symbol upon our uniforms."

"Clan symbol?"

"You've already seen it. The small red swirl seen on the Chūnin and Jōnin vests, as well as the swirl on your old tracksuit, is the symbol of the Uzumaki, very similar to a swirling whirlpool."

I suddenly want to go back home and get that swirl back. I'll be sure to get it later. "Wait? If your guys were friends with them and everything, why am I just now hearing about them? Why weren't they part of the whole learning part at the Academy?"

The old man sighed as he took off his hat. He rubbed his head and seemed so much older than he looked.

"Once again, while I am the Hokage it seems my old age has let many things slip through my fingers. The removing of the Uzumaki is a grave injustice and insult to a great clan and to my teacher. I will try to make amends to both the clan's name and to you soon Naruto.

Though I'm afraid that the Uzumaki and Kushina will make the afterlife a living hell when I meet them. Konoha too if they could make it happen."

I felt a bead of sweat on my head. Well…I had nothing to add. He was right. From how my Mom sounded, she was going to get him in the afterlife.

"And Konoha would deserve it. I can make excuses and say other things were on my mind like minding the peace of the village and outside the village but I still could've gotten someone to do something. Someone that I could trust to do their job and do it well like the past ANBU did when you first arrived.

But I pulled them away when it looked like some weren't doing their jobs correctly and since it looked like you could handle yourself. You certainly proved that the first time you were called in for assault and put your so called victims in the hospital for weeks.

…It was good to see that you took so much from your mother's personality. She always seemed so strong when I saw her. She definitely wouldn't have taken any guff from anyone. Not from me. And especially from Minato.

…She was quite devastated to learn that not only her parents but also her extended family had been taken away. Though I do believe you're father and many others here in Konoha did help to heal those wounds."

…

"Heh, guess mom and I really are a lot like." I said lowering my head. "We cherish family."

We stayed silent for a few moments. I didn't really have much to say but I was glad to know that I was apart of something bigger. That's one part of my history figured out but now, I gotta find out about the rest.

"Was there anything of hers that go left behind in the attack?"

"I'm afraid there's only so much recovered. I managed to find some of her notes on Fūinjutsu and some ninja tools such as kunai, shuriken, rope, and some…miscellaneous items that she used that gave her a rather infamous name. I'll be sure to deliver them to you in due time."

"Thanks. By the way, if Mom had a big name, why didn't people think I was her kid?"

"If I had to guess, they most likely ignore any possible connection. Kushina, despite being well liked by most of the populace, was still being quite the wildfire and was not afraid to voice or show her displeasure to those who annoyed her."

Jiji paused for a second. He looked thoughtful about something.

"Actually I think the better way to say it is that she was feared and respected. That's probably another reason. You were most likely bad enough being the Jinchūriki, if they found out you were her son, they'd probably cower in their homes in fear for weeks on end."

I felt some more sweat fall from my head. "She was that bad?"

"She wasn't known as the **Akai Chishio no Habanero** (_Red Hot-Blooded Habanero_) for nothing." Jiji chuckled.

Red Hot-Blooded Habanero? I shivered. For some reason, there was a powerful fear that came with that name.

The old man got up from his seat and stretched. Multiple cracks could be heard but not commented on.

"While I would like to continue talking, Naruto, I do have other duties to see to. Come. Let's get your ID out of the way and we shall continue talking another time."

I nodded to him. I should get that out of the way while I can. But even as we went down the hallway to get the photographer, I couldn't help but go back to what I learned.

A whole clan of people who are amazing at doing the thing that ended up sealing the Kyūbiin me. And being good at Fūinjutsuapparently got them killed.

Guess I better be careful when I get more into it. At least until I get the chance to make something awesome with it. Maybe a big seal that shoots a giant blast of energy. Like something in the shape of a circle.

Like a Whirlpool.

The possibilities are looking really good…

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

The picture wasn't really that big of a deal. I didn't really have anything special planned for it but I did want to leave an awesome mark.

A picture that would definitely make people come back and look again just to make them question if their eyes were working. It couldn't be anything goofy or crappy since this was going to be the thing that people ID me with. You know, other than the headband.

But since I didn't have anything like that or any paint on me, I decided to go with a badass pose. Not what I wanted but it should work for now.

By the time that was over, the day was still going strong so I decided to get started on my training. I had to get ready for the upcoming team evaluations and stuff. But first I needed to do one thing before I began my road to getting stronger.

I needed advice and there was only one person who had the time to give any.

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"So I kinda need some advice on what to train on. Got any ideas, Iruka-sensei?" I asked.

Today had been the day Iruka-sensei had gotten out of the hospital. He had a couple of bandages on his face and under his vest but nothing too serious. He seemed to have a bit of trouble walking around, probably from having a huge shuriken lodged into his spine.

I was still kinda shocked that he took that hit for me. Awhile back, I wasn't sure that I would do the same since despite Iruka being the stern and kinda jerkish teacher that he was; I was still on the fence about who I could trust outside of the small amount of people I knew.

Now though, I'd definitely take a hit to keep him alive too.

Iruka scratched his chin in thought before he asked, "Well if you want to get stronger, you're going to need to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are then work to improve them. I'd hold off on learning any new stuff until you feel that what you have right now is at a level that you are comfortable with.

Also as something I must stress, I ask that you look over chakra control exercises."

I groaned. "Again? Seriously?"

"Seriously. Naruto you know that Chakra Control has always been your biggest problem area. You just have too much energy and until you learn how to control it you won't be able to tap into many Ninjutsu skills that may save your life one day.

So please Naruto. Try to learn some control."

Hm. Well he's got me there.

"Alright I gotcha Iruka-sensei. I'll look it up today before I get to training. By the way, do you know where I can get a list of Chakra Control exercises?"

"Try the Academy library." He shrugged but cringed. Guess it still stings. "Easiest place to get information. Something that I'm pretty sure you should know by now."

Oh. Right. I should know that.

…Why didn't I know that?

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"'And I solemnly swear that while here I will not do anything that would be considered disruptive, destructive, and disrespectful to either the staff working here, the patrons who are trying to read, and the various books, scrolls, and other items available to Konoha Ninja Corps'."

I said blankly while holding up my right hand to the air.

I still think this is silly though.

I mean sure, I am a well-known, and dare I say famous, prankster and I've got many, many targets under my belt. Those targets also happened to be plagued by the unpleasant reminders of horrible stink bombs, large amounts of graffiti littered on both the inside and outside walls, and the owners waking up in certain clothing that will leave them embarrassed for a good long time.

My personal favorite was "jack&*s in drag".

So yeah I had a bad status and people would be suspicious about me. The fact that I'm in a _library_ of all places only makes this situation worse.

And that's why I'm doing this spoken promise with Iruka-sensei being here as a witness.

"So how was that?" I asked turning to Iruka-sensei and the librarian in charge.

Her name was Ichijou Kairi. She was about the same size as Iruka-sensei with short baggy hair that was brown and green eyes. She also had on a pair of glasses that people that liked to read always wore. They were smaller than the ones that Kunoichi teacher back at the Academy wore.

She wore a light brown long sleeved coat on top of a white shirt and knee-skirt with a pair of blue sandals that looked a lot like Shinobi sandals.

She didn't really look like a Shinobi really. She looked like a regular civilian.

"I believe that it will suffice for now, Uzumaki-san. And I expect you to hold your end of this promise or you will be banned from the Shinobi Library, indefinitely." She spoke in that voice that Iruka makes whenever I bring in something for class that he thinks will make something happen.

Hey, I may be a prankster but I keep my promises. When I was asked not to prank someone, I never did it again.

I just find another way to mess with them.

"Don't worry Ichijou-san. Despite Naruto's rather…trouble-making reputation, he does honor an agreement once it's made. If you want, I can stick around and make sure that he does nothing for the next couple of days."

"While that is nice Iruka-kun, you still have those injuries to treat and I'd feel bad if they get any worse." She smiled at Iruka-sensei and he looked away with a blush.

Oh ho, could there be something I'm picking up? I am so looking into this later. Think of the material use I could get.

"Well if there's nothing else, I have other things to take care of. Naruto-san please remember to put everything you're done with back in the spot it's supposed to be in."

"Yes ma'm."

Iruka-sensei and I watched the librarian leave before turning back to the walls of books and scrolls. On one side there was a kanji mark that said the whole three columns were for Genjutsu: Theory and Practice. In the middle, and pretty much the largest part, had a lot of books on Ninjutsu. If I had to guess, there's probably a lot of fire jutsu in there since this is the leaf village. I wonder if there's any lightning jutsu. Being able to shoot a lightning bolt from my fingers would be so cool.

But I do still have those wind scrolls to look through. I'll just come back for these later.

But there was just one strange thing. "Hey sensei, where's the Taijutsu part of this place?"

"There's not really one to be honest. There are a couple of styles taught in Konoha for all regular Shinobi like the Academy style. It's mostly a base for anyone not belonging to a clan to work on so that they can make their own style. Those who are in clans have their own special kind of Taijutsu that they keep secret.

They can't have anyone outside the family knowing how they fight."

That made sense. We are ninja and if we wanna be the best, we have to be secretive. If people knew what we knew, they could use it to kick our butts. When I get my own techniques, I'm gonna have to be extra careful with them.

Maybe if I worked on using them without shouting their name?

"Ah there we are." Iruka-sensei's voice brought me back to the library. He was standing in front of a row in the far back.

"Here's some books on chakra control and some theories that may help you understand it a bit better. Though I do hope that this time, you'll pay attention and learn something."

"Hey, I did pay attention…at times. And it's not my fault you have a boring voice. Maybe if you made it a bit more epic, I would've paid attention more." I replied folding my arms.

Sensei didn't say anything for a few seconds. I got kinda worried since this kinda silence was just the beginning part before he dealt out some punishment. But there's nothing for me to be afraid of. After all I'm not an Academy student anymore.

I'm a Genin. A ninja of Konoha.

So why was it when I turned to look a t him, I felt like I felt like running away?

Oh it was because he was using that face. The Teacher's Frown.

This was one of the deadliest weapon in his arsenal of making students, whether they're little academy kids acting too disruptive as the little brats usually do or up and coming Genin who are ready to show off how awesome they are.

The first being the Giant Head Jutsu.

Oh crap, he's really pouring it on. I think I can see his eye twitching.

Wait. A frown. Folded shoulders. A teacher's stance. But he'd only take that stance if he…

"WellI'lljusttakethesebooksandgetstartedonmycontro l. ByeSensei!"

I grabbed the books and booked it. There was no way I going to be in a lecture if I could help it.

I made it to the door before a whizzing sound made me stop and something flew right next to my ear. Looking to my right, I found out that it was a kunai.

It took me a second to realize that SOMEONE JUST THREW A KUNAI AT ME!

WHAT THE HELL?!

I turned around to find out who it was that just came close to head-shooting me in the back. And it turned out to be Ichijou-san.

Who was holding another kunai. Uh oh.

"I believe that you have not signed out for those books, Uzumaki-san. And until you do so, I believe that it would be a very bad idea for you to take those books out."

From somewhere she pulled out another kunai and twirled the little hole on the end on her finger.

"Do we understand each other?"

"…Yes, ma'm." Please don't kill me.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Jinan Hospital…**_

"So since I'm gonna be out getting some major training in, I won't be around as much. That's not a problem is it?"

After getting a card and checking out those chakra control books, I decided to head off without Iruka-sensei. The reasons were that he still had other things to do besides going to the hospital to look into getting those bandages off. Probably about time too.

The other reason is that I didn't want anyone to know about this place.

"Meh, it's no skin off my teeth boy. You've been coming around less anyway so you not being here won't be that big of a deal." Replied Sougen-jiji.

Right now, I was sitting on an examination bed in one of the four rooms in Sougen-jiji's small hospital that was connected to Konoha's General Hospital. He was originally stationed near the restaurant and merchant district since he didn't want to walk that far when it came to getting lunch and managed to get a good place.

However when the Hospital boss came and asked him to work part time as one of the head doctors, he decided to work there. After getting the boss to move his stuff for fee, anyway.

Sneaky old man.

…But I can see where he was coming from. If I had to work for someone else, I'd better be getting paid. He was one of the few doctors on loan that worked in both surgery and medicine.

He always says that the hospital mostly paid him for a few cases that came in because of his skill despite not being a **Iryō-nin** (_Medical Ninja)_.

Though I can probably guess that no one really likes him. I don't really like the old Bastard and he's the one whose been helping with my wounds for the last five years.

"Thanks for telling me how much you'd miss me. It makes me feel all warm inside."

"Probably indigestion. You've been eating too much of Teuchi's food lately. I'm surprised that all that training managed to get all that fat off when it did."

"Screw you old man."

"Boy, I believe we've had this conversation before. You're the wrong gender and even then, I'd still wouldn't. You'd piss me off anyway."

One of these days, I was going to be able to have the last word. It's gonna be so good that the old Bastard was going to go into shock for over three, no, five minutes.

That'll show him.

But that's not why I was here. "Anyway, do you have anymore scrolls on that style you taught me? I wanna get some more techniques under my belt and learning the higher stuff might set me up for it."

The old man stroked his beard. I never really understood what the whole "old guys stroke their beards" thing was about. So far I've seen a total of three people do it. One being Jiji. The second was Sougen-jiji. And the last was some smoker guy that wasn't really that old but still had a beard and stroked it.

I wonder if it just gets itchy and they had to scratch it. Like a reflex.

"Hmm. Well I suppose if you think it would help, I can lend you the scroll but I expect you to copy down the useful stuff and bring the original back here without anyone else looking at it. I only let you learn that style since you asked and I figured it be fun to toss you on your rear while you learned something. Since no one else asked, they don't need to know."

"I've gotten hits back at you for the ones you gave me." I felt the need to defend myself.

"After about three years worth of butt whooping and being thrown into my spices bush when you messed on a move or thought you could get the better of me. And that's only after we had to get you fattened up with healthy food and conditioning." He shot back with a smirk as he toyed with one of his long mustaches.

"That was a rather good year for my house keeping if I recall."

"You know the more you talk, the more I want to take a kunai and shove it—"

"Bah. Well it'll take me a minute or so to find the old thing. Tokie moved some thing around before she left and I never asked where she put the darn thing. Sit out front and I'll be back in a few."

The old man quickly left through the backdoor.

I want to feel like it was because I scared him into it but I really can't. I hate the fact that I can't even enjoy a victory against him when I really should. Either way, I guess I'm gonna be here for a bit so I went to the front room and plopped down on connected seats close to the window.

It was five minutes later before I heard the door open while I was so incredibly bored. I mean I was so bored I actually picked up one of those medical books that the Doc leaves around. It was a standard anatomy book that showed all four parts of the body.

The outer skin. The inner skin. The bone structure. Then finally the organs. Oh and there was even a section on chakra pathways,

Well I guess it was all boring. I did learn that if you hit certain points in the body, it would screw up their network and make em easier to take down. Why didn't we learn this at the academy?

Turning to the door, I saw the person move to the center of the room and I smiled. "Hey Hinata. It's been awhile."

This girl was Hinata Hyūga. She was from one the big ninja clans here in Konoha called the Hyūga. They used to be tied with the Uchiha clan for having so many members and for being rich but after _that_ incident with Sasuke's family, the Hyūga were the biggest clan in Konoha.

Hinata looked like the rest of her family except for a few main differences. For one, instead of long dark brown or even black hair, Hinata had light blue hair.

In my opinion it was cute.

The other main difference between Hinata and the other Hyūga is that unlike them, Hinata was probably the nicest person I have ever met in this village. She never started any fights and she didn't go crazy like those girls who liked Sasuke.

Her family, on the other hand, was like many of the other rich people that live here: total jerks.

Hinata turned to face me and I was treated to the site of Cute Hinata no.2: Red Lobster Hinata. "Naruto-kun?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm just here to get something from Doc. You know, getting ready for some heavy duty training before the team thing at the Academy. What are you here for?"

"I am here to pick up some ingredients for…something I'm working on." She replied but she did stutter once or twice.

"Oh you're learning from the Doc too?" I got off the chair and moved to stand next to her.

"Just a few things. I'm not really good at much but I feel like I could understand this one thing the best." She then switched to Cute Hinata no.1: Finger Poking Hinata.

"Aw come on, you shouldn't say that." I replied placing a hand on her shoulder. She made a weird squeaking noise but I didn't pay attention to it. Hinata was kinda weird like that.

"You're one of the best fighters we had at the Academy. I mean when you actually fought anyway but when you did no one could take you on. Not Sakura. Not Ino. Heck, not even Ami and between you and me, she kinda looked stronger than either of them. And who was at the top of the hill?"

"But…but I really wasn't all that good. I mean, I messed up on a few moves and I still can't beat…" She paused and turned away. Most likely recalling something she probably didn't want to talk to me about.

I sighed in my head when she turned away. You know, despite the fact that I really started talking to her only last year—well not really all that much talking but more like said hi to each other and maybe asking a couple of questions—I really started to like the girl.

But for the life of me, I wish that she could be happier. I couldn't help but wonder what could make such a nice girl look so sad and withdrawn. Trouble at home maybe?

"Ah well…if you think you can do better," I suddenly had an idea and I want to smack myself for not coming up with it sooner. But considering how shy Hinata is, she probably wouldn't have agreed to it in the idea if I had asked it when we didn't know each other. But now that we do, she'd go for it right?

Right?

"Why don't we train together?" I asked with my biggest smile. No one can resist it.

"E-EH?!" Whoa. Was it really that surprising? "B-But I'm not really—"

"Hinata," I stopped her before she could talk bad about herself. There are already a lot of people out there that will talk bad about someone, even when something happens they can't control. The person who it's about doesn't need to be tough on themselves or believe what others say. If they do it's a win for those people.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could help. I told you: I think you are one of the best fighters at the Academy and if I do train, I'd want it to be with the best."

Hinata didn't say anything for a bit but I think she would agree. I just wish she'd say it already. I couldn't understand quiet or sign language. I wasn't Shino after all.

Though learning sign language might be another thing I should look into. I mean being able to say a whole sentence with just a couple of finger movements. Who wouldn't think that is cool?

"Oi brat. Stop hogging the girl's personal space. She'll pass out from bad ramen breath if you don't."

"My breath is minty fresh, you old bastard." I retorted to the old man as he came through the back door. But I did take a step back from Hinata and removed my hand from her shoulder. Ayame and Tokie did install those lessons into for a reason.

"Keep telling yourself that." Old Man Sougen pulled out two things from his coat sleeve. One was a scroll. The other looked like a small can.

"Well here you kids go. I found the scroll and the ingredients ya need." He turned to look at me with one eye opened and tried to make me afraid of that lone beady eye. Yeah, no dice.

"I expect to get this back and in good condition. That means no stains or smell of ramen."

"Yeah. Yeah." I replied grabbing the scroll. I was about to leave when a small sound makes me stop and turn back. What was that?

"I…" She blushed again and turned her eyes to the side. If it wasn't so cute, I'd think she was gonna faint right away. "I would like to…to…to train with you Naruto! Please let me!"

She bowed her head to her waist when she shouted that last part.

I was kinda weirded out by how loud she yelled her request but I still smiled when she finished and I realized what she meant. Hehe. Looks like I was getting through to her after all.

"Alright then Hinata. Meet me at my house tomorrow and we'll get started on training. And bring you're A-game, okay?"

Hinata smiled back at me and gave a small nod. When I'm done with her, she'll be the biggest badass Kunoichi in Konoha. With me as the badass regular Shinobi in Konoha of course.

With another wave and good bye, I left the small clinic and hopped the roofs back to my house to get things started. Right now, I had plan and the next step would be to get into it. Physical training, Ninjutsu training, and…well some other stuff but I'll get to that when it happens. Right now, nothing else matters that much than getting ready.

Since there was still some daylight left, I decided that now was the time to get my training started. After a minute or so, I make it to the usual spot.

Taking a good look around and breathing in the fresh air, I put the bag of scrolls and books down next to me.

Time to get started.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**

A large puff of smoke later and I was surrounded by… "Hey how many of you guys are there?"

"If I had to guess, approximately sixty. A little less than what you usually make." One of them replied. Matter of fact, it sounded familiar.

Turning to the clone that spoke, I recognized him immediately. Yep, I don't think there were any other clones that could mimic that surly expression.

"Oh, it's you again."

"I never expected to be summoned again as well but it seems your chakra has other ideas." The clone shrugged its shoulders. "It's not so bad to be alive again. I am also glad that you gave Mizuki what he deserved. Hopefully his final moments were painful."

…Okay. Moving on.

"Alright guys, its time to get started on Operation: Improvement. For the next six days, we are going to be training as much as we can so that I can become awesome and learn some new stuff. It's going to be a long few days but its definitely going to make things better with your help.

Now let's get you all to groups and have you all focus on something.

First off, the first group will be…twenty? Does that sound good?"

"What is it you want them to focus on?" Asked the solemn clone.

"Huh?"

"You can't just have a bunch of us go off and do something. Like Iruka told you, you need to find out your strength and weaknesses and work to improve them. Like how you sucked at Bunshin and how you seriously suck at Genjutsu."

"Hey, I've gotten better at it! I even know how to do that **Genjutsu Kai **(_Illusion Dissipation_)."

"That's good for you but what if someone used a C-rank jutsu? Or a B-rank or higher? The stronger it is, the harder it will be for you to use the Genjutsu Kai and that…will lead to death."

The Clone stared at me right in the eye as if daring me to prove it wrong.

But I knew it wasn't. While I did know the Genjutsu Kai, I was that good at it. Or at Genjutsu in general. For all those times I used it, I still needed days, weeks, even before I could get my control good enough to use that technique. I needed even more time to get the **Bunshin** to what I have now.

Okay then. I can work this out.

"Okay Gloomy, you've got a point. So for starters, I'm gonna have you guys work on Genjutsu. I want to get the Genjutsu Kai perfect and maybe, just maybe, get one Genjutsu under my belt.

Hopefully."

'Hai Boss!" the first twenty clones yelled before they rushed off a few feet away to start working on how to do the Genjutsu technique. Gloomy—note to self, think of a new name of clone if he pops up again—shrugged and went off to join the group.

"Alright next is Ninjutsu. The next fifteen are to work on the basic 3. The Bunshin, Henge, and Kawamiri are to be made the best of the best in my arsenal."

"Gotcha, Bossman." The one clone in the front with a goofy grin replied. He also gave me a thumbs up for some reason. Okay that's the second clone to get a weird personality. Is there something wrong with this technique that Jiji didn't tell me about?

Turning to the remaining twenty clones, I wondered what else to…oh right. I almost forgot.

"Okay, let's have…ten of you guys look over those chakra control books along with the Shinobi History and other stuff."

A wide chorus of groans was my reply. Yeah…sucks to be you guys. "Sorry guys but we have to get this done. And you're the lucky ones. So get to it."

There was another collective groan before they finally left with the books. "And make sure you copy down Sougen-jiji's martial arts scroll. I wanna get to the next move set before the team thing on before the next weekend."

I'm pretty sure they heard me so I left them alone to do their jobs.

Now that left only fourteen left.

"What are we gonna be doing boss?" one asked.

I let out a small sigh before getting into a fighting stance. The clones looked confused for a second before smirks and smiles grew on their faces.

Heh. Just like me after all.

"For starters, I think I've gotten a bit lazy for the past couple of days. So today, let's get into some Taijutsu training.

All of you against me."

The clones started to spread out a few feet away from me before closing me off in a circle. One of them stepped up first getting into a stance similar to mine. No one spoke a word as the two of us just stared the other down. It felt like an intense match, like the ones I had with some of the others back at the Academy.

The clone started things off first. He ran at me with a straight punch. He was running at a good speed but for some reason it felt like he was slow. It really felt like it when I decided to move.

I brought my arm up and blocked the punch. He was surprised and stopped for a second so I decided to use that moment to my advantage. Taking the clone by the arm, I pulled him up and tried to throw him over my shoulder. When I was about to slam him into the ground to dispel him, but he seemed to realize this and kicked me in the face.

I let him go and hopped back a bit to wipe my face. Crap that hurt. When they say solid, they meant it.

When I moved my hand from my eyes, I saw that the clone was closing in for a kick to the face. Not this time.

This time I attacked at the same time, with a kick to his gut. It managed to connect thanks to the fact that he was a bit too high. The moment my kick connected however, he exploded into a puff of smoke.

Darn it, forgot that they go poof so easily.

Well that was seriously short. And the memory feedback wasn't anything goo—

_Tink!_

Whoa. So the Shodaime had a secret technique to make trees grow and attack people. That's crazy. I mean I can see someone pulling a tree out of the ground and bashing someo—wait, what the heck am I talking about?

"One of the clones that were reading got surprised when you popped that fighting clone and popped himself. Sorry boss." Shouted one of the reading clones.

"Okay then." I said rubbing my eyes. Nice to see that feedback is working well. "Okay now that we know that popping one of your guys may set off the others, we're gonna be more careful on this. I don't want multiple pops to go off and end up passed ou—"

_POP!_

_POP!_

_POP!_

_POP!_

_POP!_

_POP!_

"…Ugh…" and everything went dark.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

When I woke up—apparently three hours later—I found that I could remember a few things before I passed out. Like the fact that clones using up all their chakra would just dispel. I should've figured that out at the beginning but hey, live and learn.

Plus I think the Kawamiri is getting better.

Getting to my feet fairly well but with wobbly legs, I shake my heads to get the cobwebs out. This was no time to just stay dizzy. I still had some time to work and I wasn't going to waste it.

But…let's try it with lesser clones. Maybe sixty was a bit much for the first time. This time there were only five clones fighting me, while there were two clones off doing the reading and copying. Well leave the Ninjutsu practice for tomorrow.

Turning to the five, I got into my stance again. This time things would go better. Not only are these guys stronger since the chakra I made them with will keep them around longer—at least I think it will—but I have a better plan to get better.

"All of you come at me…like you want to kill me."

Let's just hope that these guys can give me a good workout before they go poof. I'm gonna need all the training I can get soon.

Cause soon I'll be out of the village and making a name for myself. And doing so, I will make you proud.

Just you wait and see, Aoko-Sensei.

Chapter 3 end

_Omake: Kage's Lament _

It was a time for contemplation for Sarutobi Hiruzen. After a whole day of Genin photo ID'S, going over Academy reports, and judging which Genin team would go to who, normally this would be the perfect time for a break.

For a man pushing seventy-three, such a thing would be a Kami-send.

But for the Sandaime Hokage, this would not be so.

_Orochimaru_. Just the name of his old and unfortunately traitorous student sent many emotions through Hiruzen. The first would be regret for letting the once great prodigy fall so far into darkness. The other part of that regret would be letting the man go when he had the chance to end him. He had let his sentiment get the better of him and now Orochimaru was an S-class Missing-nin still on the run.

The other main emotion was anger. Just remembering those poor souls that had been used for the Snake Sannin's experimentations always manages to bring Hiruzen's blood to boil. All those innocent civilians and even their own Shinobi had become nothing more than pawns for one man's sick obsessions. Those children being dissected and torn open just for scientific discoveries.

It still made him sick.

Hiruzen unclenched his fists. He took a few minutes to calm down. He was too old to be getting so angry and definitely too old to be wallowing in self-loathing at his mistakes.

Not when he could do something more constructive.

Taking his customary pipe filled with some quality tobacco from Kusagakure—a gift from another student of his with an affinity for Toads—he lit the pipe to take a few calming breaths. Such a refreshing blend.

Now…it was time to plan. To show that he was not only the **Kami no Shinobi** but the Professor as well.

He didn't have much time however. So many things were beginning to stir in the world and he was sure that he would not be around for much longer. While he could still be in office for a few more years or even longer—Onoki proved that age shouldn't keep a Kage down but at the same time that people should step down after awhile—and he would do so if needed.

However for whatever this new threat would be Konoha would need someone younger, wiser, and ready to take it on.

While there were a few under consideration that he wished would take the mantle, time would only tell who it would be.

And yet there was one he sorely wished would take on the task to bring Konoha through the darkness.

Now…how could he help Uzumaki Naruto? While the boy would be fine with his training, there were still many things Sarutobi didn't know.

Plus with Naruto's show of abilities two days ago, whatever plan he needed to make had to be catered to not only gain more information from the blond but not do anything that could upset the boy too much that his abilities would cause him to go rogue.

Or worse become unstable and release the Kyūbi. Sarutobi would not have Naruto go the route of The **Yondaime Kazekage's** (_Wind Shadow_) son.

But to make this work he would need someone that he could trust to not only raise Naruto and his teammates but would only report to him so that outside influences couldn't shake things to make it worse.

Hatake Kakashi was definitely out if that was the case. While the man was certainly one of his most loyal Shinobi and had lobbied to train the Uzumaki, time had taken its toll on him. So many losses over the years along with his stint as ANBU Captain were not things that made an individual healthy in mind. A capable soldier maybe but not the type of person needed for what Hiruzen had in mind.

Plus the man had his plate full with training Uchiha Sasuke, the last member of the Uchiha clan, which had been slaughtered by Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's brother and a well-known prodigy rivaling strength shown only in Konoha's best. Training the young man to gain his Sharingan and become a strong and loyal member of Konoha was important.

The loss of one of Konoha's founding clan and the strength the Sharingan had was a nightmare to the village's strength at the time but they had no choice in the matter. After so many years of peace with the clan, the Uchiha had decided to begin a Coup that would result in the destruction of Konoha and most likely another Shinobi World War.

The issue that began the dilemma was the Kyūbi attack sixteen years ago.

The higher ups, such as himself, the advisers, and the Heads of the clans, had learned of the Yondaime's dying message: a Sharingan user had let the Kyūbi free. Many questioned if the whole clan had been behind the incident since there were many Uchiha missing in action that night. Hiruzen tried to calm such idea—he and others knew that Doujutsu could be taken and implanted in other users—but the damage had been done.

Certain shadow restrictions had been placed on the clan and while the Shinobi maintained a show of calm since they were still rebuilding, things had begun to escalate.

A small espionage war began between Konoha and the Uchiha once it was learned by Sarutobi and his team of advisers with no one outside of these two groups the wiser. For a couple of years, The Uchiha were tracked and watched by the ANBU while the Uchiha did the same with the Police Corps and their own ninja within both the ANBU and higher ranks. Not even Itachi, who had been working as an ANBU Captain at the age of fifteen and a loyal family member and Konoha Shinobi had been dragged into it.

Sarutobi rubbed his head in shame.

At first things seemed to quite down when he attempted to restore some of the political power the Uchiha had lost in a show of good faith and that together they could find the real answers. The Uchiha had responded in neutrality but did contribute to things. There were collaborations among the policy of the Academy and even a few things in the restaurant district. Somehow they even managed to get a full agreement to have the graduation date changed from twelve to sixteen. The main reason was the citing that "things were becoming better so why not let the kids grow a little more before it's their turn to rise to greatness".

Things had finally stabilized…at least in the beginning. Soon something happened that restarted their desire to have more power and in the end, the old Hokage's attempts at peace were not realized.

For the safety or the innocents and soldiers who worked to preserve the peace, the Uchiha had to die. And it was all done by Itachi, the current head of the clan's son that had done the deed in exchange for the life of his brother Sasuke.

No one could learn the truth. Not even the Sasuke himself. And Itachi would forever be branded a traitor and a monster for the sake of peace.

Such is the violent lives of Shinobi.

Konoha had managed to cover the Massacre up as best as they could but soon the Bingo Books were out and the truth was told. However this was not before Konoha could regain some of its strength and credibility in its stance as one of the strongest villages. It regained its strength after the decline of the Senju, the Kurama, and the death of the Fourth Hokage.

It did so again after the loss of the Uchiha.

However with the chance of regaining the Sharingan and a new Uchiha clan, the political and true need for Sasuke to be strong was a constant headache in meetings with the Council and something that would come to prey on Hiruzen's mind till his deathbed.

If only he had had more time for an understanding…

Anyway so putting more on Kakashi's plate was not needed. Besides his slot was filled with two others already so the point was moot.

The other Jōnin were not what he needed either since they had already chosen their Genin and some just didn't want the blonde on their team. His last two resources were his son Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai and they were also taken with their own choices for Genin. Asking them to take on more responsibility was out of the question.

Even if he wanted to do go by the son of his successor, he could not ignore the other Genin who would also rise to greatness in their own way.

The bottom line was that Naruto would soon leave the village for higher missions, his interference needed or not. And as much as Hiruzen would like to deny it, the boy's name would become very well known and, dare he say it, infamous among the other villages.

Onoki was a hit or miss problem. Since despite the war being over, old scars from the Third War probably haven't healed at all. Especially among those who may be missing-nin.

That boisterous Raikage A could prove to be the most problematic due to his attempts to gain power had stricken The Leaf many times. First being Kushina's kidnapping which had been thwarted and paid back with blood and death. The second being the Hyūga Heiress's kidnapping except that had ramifications on the Leaf.

Kirigakure wasn't that much of a problem since it was still recovering after their civil war. Jiraiya should be back soon with a report on their state of affairs and then Sarutobi could really plan for them.

Sunagakure was another wild card. He was not sure what the Kazekage's response to a Jinchūriki stronger than theirs was being employed by Konoha but it most likely may end in conflict.

Also there was Itachi, who had become a spy for Konoha. The lad had sent in information of a group that could very well be a part of the foreboding he had been feeling. Add the fact that this Akatsuki, as they were called, were made of S-rank Missing-nin, this made for the highest problem for both now and the future.

Orochimaru in one corner. The other Villages in another. And this Akatsuki in the last.

So little time and so much to do.

So that just begged the question…

…Who could the blonde's teacher?

_Omake End_

_**Next time:**_

_Days go by and by_

_Yet Uzumaki continues to grow._

"**This…Jutsu…ROCKS!"**

_Jutsu, Taijutsu, and so many venues._

_All improved with sweat and blood._

"**Naruto! Are you al—AAAAAAHHHHHH!"**

**OH CRAP THEY FRIGGIN HURT!**

_And as the days go by, the fog slowly clears._

"**Looks like we got here in time…"**

"**Besides you are supposed to be the little trained murderer so it's about time you got you're hands bloody."**

"**I know it's not my best work…"**

_And with this knowledge, more questions appear._

"**Who the hell are you, Monster?!"**

"**No one really,"**

_**Kyuutsuki Chapter 4**_

_**Strike Past, Forge Present**_

Edits 05/17/13

AJ Katon out.


	4. Strike Past, Forge Present

Kyuutsuki No Uzumaki

By

AJ Katon

Disclaimer: I do not own Natsu-verse or Naruto seeing as they belong to their respective owners. I do own the various OC's that may be introduced later on.

_Arc 1: Maelstrom Konoha_

_Chapter 4: Strike Past, Forge Present_

_**Day 2: Afternoon  
Wind Ninjutsu Training**_

"The **Fūton (**_Wind Release)_is a nature release that utilizes wind chakra. It is mostly used for creating large or small bursts of wind for blowing the opposition away or for cutting and slicing with its razor sharp refinement. Fūtonis stronger than **Raiton **(_Lightning Release)_Jutsu but is weaker than **Katon **(_Fire Release)_Jutsu and can be used to strengthen both Katon and **Suiton** (_Water Release)_ Jutsu.

Can also be used in a Chakra stream on weapons to increase cutting power."

It was the second day of my big training week. After the crappy mistakes of yesterday, I decided that taking things a bit slower might help me out more. No more than five to ten clones at a time for a single job.

I had a small squad of six clones looking over the copy of Sougen-jiji's scroll and even practicing the move set with Hinata.

She showed up an hour ago and freaked out seeing all of the clones running around. There was also this weird look on her face but I decided to ignore it to get started on her training.

First part was training her body to fight.

It took a while to get her to finally get into the mood to hit me. I needed a taunt for it to happen but it seemed to work. The memory of that Chakra palm slamming into my gut was the proof of that. But after that little problem was solved we were trading blows for awhile.

Well it was more like we were doing more dodging than trading but still, it was good progress. I think. I don't know how to teach so I'm just winging it.

I'm actually surprised she's getting this so well. I kinda figured that since this was different from what she usually trained in, she'd have a harder time adjusting to it but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. She seemed to flow through the practice, not like how rocky and weird she moved when using that Hyūga Jūken style.

Hm…

Well while she was with those clones, another set of five were working on Chakra Control by climbing the close by trees. I tried it sometime ago and I gotta say, concentration really is the key. Especially if I didn't want to fall on my head. Again. But I feel like my control has gotten better. I'm starting to need to do less Bunshins.

One less.

…Better than nothing.

That weird gloomy clone was with the Genjutsu learning squad. Apparently using those techniques require a lot more brain work than using Ninjutsu. If I can at least learn one Genjutsu I'd be cool.

Hm…maybe I should make my own.

Anyway, back to this Fūton Jutsu. It sounds pretty cool. Not as destructive as Katon or Raiton but I can work with this. I can just find a Katon somewhere else.

"So to make **Reppūshō** (_Violent Wind Palm_)work, I have to concentrate on making my Chakra become the wind? Not only that but I have to clap my hands together too."

I paused and looked up.

"Kinda weird. Clapping my hands to get an attack working. But if that's how it works then I'll give it a try."

Calling over a clone from the reading den, I got to work on working the hand seals. Memorizing stuff wasn't my forte but after a few tries I get them all right. I can't wait for the day I can get these techniques with no hand signs.

I'm pretty sure I can make it happen.

Okay hand seals done. Clone at the ready. Let's make it happen –ttebayo.

Charging Chakra? Check. Going through the hand seals? Check. Arms stretched out and ready for the clap? Check.

Let's do this!

"**Fūton: Reppūshō!" **I shouted and clapped my hands right in front of the clone.

_**Bam!**_

Both the clone and me were blown back from an explosion. The clone was easily dispelled from the impact while I was thrown into the dirt.

Oww.

"Naruto! Are you al—AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Hinata what the hell are you—"

When I tried to touch my head, I discovered my hands had become broken and were bleeding a lot. Wait were there a couple bending the wrong way or chipped off?

Well it didn't matter a second later cause my brain finally realized I had brOKEN HANDS!

OH CRAP THEY FRIGGIN HURT!

THEY HURT AND THEY'RE FRIGGIN BROKEN AND BLEEDING! I THINK A FINGER'S GOING TO FALL OFF!

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**A couple of hours later…**_

After getting the clones bandage for my still aching—and thankfully no longer BLEEDING and BROKEN hands—I decided to review my accident. I had failed to do the Jutsu. While I did get a clap explosion thing, which might be useful on its own, it wasn't what I was going for.

I was supposed to make a wave of wind, not make my hands blow up!

On another plus, I can regenerate limbs. Not going to test that any further but its good to know.

Note to self: talk to the Kyūbi about this.

I decided that it would be better if Hinata went home for the day, seeing as she was kinda shaken up over the whole thing. I told her that I was going to be fine and that we could pick up things tomorrow if she had the time. She wanted to stay around a bit more but when a pretty dark haired woman with red eyes came to pick her up, she decided to let it go.

Hope she'll be fine.

So now I was back in the training ground, I made some more clones—just less than forty for now—and got them back to work. I may be in pain but that doesn't mean I still can't work.

Now that I had a moment to myself, I took a moment to think about the incident. What the hell happened to that Jutsu?

What did I do wrong?

Oh wait. The change the chakra into wind thing. In my rush I forgot about it.

After a short round of saying things that would make Iruka-sensei blue and green in horror, I went over the instructions on the Reppūshō and Wind Chakra. The instructions explained that for this Jutsu I had to make my chakra act like a wave of wind being blown at a good high speed, kinda like how Iruka-sensei makes everyone's hair flow in the air when he yells with that Big Head Jutsu.

So I have to push my chakra into my hands, make it change into a wind and as I clap imagine bringing the wind into a wave and throwing it at someone

That sounds simple enough but there's one big problem I'm having:

"How the hell do I change my Chakra into Wind?!"

"Maybe you already know."

Okay while I did jump at the unexpected voice, I did not, repeat did not, scream like a girl. I did what any sensible ninja would do: I threw a bunch of kunai at the speaker. I was especially hoping to hit him between the eyes.

Oh it was just the gloomy clone. And he dodged.

Dang it.

"What do you mean by, I already know?" I asked crossing my arms. "If I already knew what to do, I'd have this over and done with."

"What I meant is that you should know how to do this because you most likely have used it already." The clone replied with its half-lidded eyes. Good thing he was ignoring me almost making him go poof.

"The fact that the scroll detailing the technique was found among your other recently recovered items means that you've trained extensively with it before you got into the accident. If that's the case then the answer lies in your head."

"Okay that's a good point. Except I can't remember anything from that time." I snipped giving the clone a glare. He should know dang well my memory is all junky. "The earliest I can recall is meeting Aoko-Sensei and some…other stuff that's really not helpful here."

Dead people do not equal me getting better.

"While that may be the case of your very limited brain, I was talking about a different kind of memory."

He stepped forward and tapped my shoulder.

"Your muscle memory."

The confused look on my face most likely helped him realize that he should explain better.

"Muscle memory is just what it sounds like. Whenever you make a move and do so over and over again, your body will remember it for years to come. Kinda like how you had that reflex to throw a Kunai at me when I scared you."

"You didn't scare me." I quipped back. "But I do see your point. Okay, how so how do I operate this whole muscle thing?"

"Try to feel it out with your body. It's the best idea I have."

Okay try to feel out the Wind Chakra with my body. I have no idea how I'm gonna pull that off but doing something is better than nothing.

Except that it took a few tries to get it right. For some reason I didn't get the whole idea of making wind for awhile.

Eight tries as a matter of fact.

But then on the ninth try, things were different.

When I built my chakra back up to use for the technique, I paused when I felt a small gust of wind blow at my body. Now that I think about it, the wind was air that can go anywhere but when it actually hits something, it feels like…something it pushing against it. Like two parts meeting each other to make something. The body in one direction and the air in another.

So that means that I…I…I have no idea where I'm going with this.

"Geez! What else is there dammit!? I got the chakra! I've got an idea! What else do I need to do?!" I shouted as another small breeze hit me.

Okay. Calm down Naruto. Needing a moment to calm down, I turned to look around. The clones were still going through their own exercises. Some were still reading and doing chakra control. Others were getting a feel with using Kyuutsuki.

Or at least that's what I think they were doing. Just waving their tantos around in the air. I could even hear them cutting into the air from he—

_**Ting!**_

Wait. Wait. Wait a sec.

What was that last thought? Waving tantos around. Cutting into the air. Waves. Cut. Air.

Maybe I…I…

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"_**Hehehe well aren't you a lucky brat. Looks like you got the same affinity as I do. Wind. The element for fighting and just cutting yer enemies into pieces. Fitting for monsters, eh?"**_

"_**Now remember this brat. The wind is made for cutting. Even those big tornado or air bullets are made for clean cuts. To get this to work though, you gotta get the idea of your chakra being razor sharp. Like this here."**_

_**He took two kunai out and started scrapping them against each other. It sounded horrible but there was no mistaking that they were sharp.**_

"_**That's what you need to do. Make yer chakra into two parts and make em grind against each other until you can feel them become so sharp they can cut anything. Now this is gonna take time, especially for someone like you but I think we can get this done. **_

_**With all that energy to burn and that look in your eye, you can make it happen. If it'll help ya kill then ya can make it happen.**_

_**Now get to it."**_

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

The memory ended and this time I knew. I can do this.

As I tried again, with a strange feeling helping out, I felt my Chakra begin to swirl and move around my body, according to my will. Split it in two and make them grind.

Just like…the wind. Split and grind. Split and grind.

…

…I've got it. I could feel my chakra becoming sharp. It feels like it could cut anything.

…Heh. No matter what I do, I always go back to cutting things. Guess my eyes aren't just one accessory to that anymore.

Now for the hard part.

As I stretched my hands out wide, I tried pushing the new feeling into them. For this to work, I needed my hands to act like fans that were going to move it all into one direction.

Okay. I've got the idea. I've my hands ready. The Chakra was ready to surge forward.

"Alright let's do this, —ttebayo!"

Now what happened next I will freely admit, to myself anyway, that what happened was my fault. I did read in there that this was a C-rank technique which meant that it was really strong and usually used by people who are in Iruka-sensei's league or higher.

Genin usually don't do moves like this.

After what I did I can see why.

See I had forgotten something important. Getting techniques right was not just getting the seals right or even having enough Chakra to do it. Those weren't my problems to begin with.

My problem, as always, lied in my control.

It was a lot better than it was when I first got to the Academy and after three days of training it with those Chakra exercises, I can honestly say that I felt I was in the good.

But…while my control for Chakra was good, my control for my emotions on having my first elemental jutsu may have messed me up. I was overcome with excitement but still had some frustration from not having it work the first few times that when I finally had it, I couldn't keep it all in.

When I clapped my hands, the blast of wind was a lot stronger than I'm sure it was supposed to be. The scroll said that it was supposed to be strong enough to push a human down. I don't know maybe I overshot it.

See the clone did not get knocked down.

He was cut right through the middle. Never stood a chance against it. The wave didn't stop until it ran smack into another team of clones that were practicing a Chakra Control exercise that involved climbing a tree.

They all were cut down and dispelled. The Jutsu even cut through the tree. Now it was nothing but a tree stump.

I was blown back a bit too. I think I didn't brace myself or the backlash probably got to me.

My flight was slightly better since I didn't crash into anything. I did skid across the dirt and rocks thanks to the surprise of the Jutsu which scuffed my cool new clothing a bit but after a second of tumbling, I managed to right myself and land on my feet. The small cuts on my face and hands would disappear soon.

They always did.

I was understandably shocked by how much energy had come out of the Jutsu. It made me go blank in the mind for a few seconds. I think it even stopped me from acknowledging the flow of memories about what it's like to it a tree at breakneck speed or walking up the tree with better results than yesterday. Soon my brain rebooted and I blinked staring at the destruction I made.

Seeing what possibilities I could make with this technique, there was only one thing I could say.

"This…Jutsu…ROCKS!" I shouted in awe and excitement. This was going to be my ticket to awesome!

And I can do Wind Chakra again!

I pretty much ignored the clones that were still around gaping at me in shock. That didn't matter. I have a jutsu I can call my own.

Wind kicks so much a#$ and when I finally get it to work right, I can take that super version I just did and make it a…secondary Jutsu maybe? Anyway, I have something of my own thanks to my crazy large Chakra Reserves and my own excitement.

I was overwhelmed with joy…at least until I was brought into the Hokage's office by the ANBU. Okay lesson learned: be careful when messing with strong Jutsu. Or else you'll get an earful on safety and limiting yourself.

I'm good on the safety thing but the limits are gonna be hard. Since I have so much energy to burn, I can't help but wonder…

…Who was that man?

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

Yeah, getting called into Jiji's office sucked but hey, it proved that I was doing something right.

So now that I had my element back, I just needed more time and clones to make it better. And to actually get it down the way it was supposed to be. If I can do that, I could have two Jutsu.

But that's not to say that there weren't a couple of problems along the way. Especially when I'm dealing with clones that seemed to be thinking on their own. A lot of thinking.

* * *

_**Day 3: Late Afternoon  
Body Conditioning/ Taijutsu Training**_

"Alright men, today is a day where we once again must test our mettle in this field. With our fists and our easily destroyable bodies, we have no choice but to go one hundred percent in a fight. No, in any fight, we must give it our all.

And we shall prove that we can do more than simply go poof and learn stuff. Today we show that above all else: we can fight!

And we shall prove this on this glorious field…of Death and Battle!"

A big round of applauds were the answer to that very nice speech. And I'm not gonna lie but I clapped a few times when it was over.

It was kinda weird to see one of my clones being so cool. Actually now that I think about it, this was the second clone to have a…weird personality.

What the heck is up with these clones?

"Now let the Uzumaki Tournament begin!" The clone shouted throwing a fist into the air. The others roused as well and were more than ready to begin battling for their lives and reputation.

Almost makes me feel bad knowing about to kick their butts.

Standing on the other side of the training field, I faced the group of twenty with crossed arms and an excited smile. Sure I was technically fighting the same guy over and over but I was getting better at fighting as things go on.

And come on, how could I not get pumped up with clones like these?

"And now its time for the first event! The Bossman vs. the Terrible Trio!"

…Wow that sounded horrible.

Anyway, the three clones stepped up and got ready for a brawl. I slid into my own stance and waited for the gong.

"ROUND ONE, FIGHT!"

Two of the clones raced toward me while the last assisted them by jumping into the air and throwing some Kunai at me. From the look of it the Kunai would've reached me before the clones did and when I dodge the pointy weapons, those two would catch me by surprise.

Nice move.

To go against it, I decided to take out my own weapon, my new tanto, and struck back. One swipe removed the Kunai coming at me while the second got rid of a clone that couldn't move away fast enough. The other one hopped high enough to dodge my swipe and kick me in the face.

Ow.

Moving through that little pain, I back flipped to get my balance back and charged in. The clone anticipated this and blocked my next swipe with its Kunai. We tried to overpower the other for a few seconds before he had the bright idea to take out a second Kunai and go for my sides. Smart move.

It was the way I wanted things to go. Even if these were mock fights, there was still a chance for me to screw up and end up dead.

A great ninja has a plan for best and for the worst.

To do this, I have to be ready for anything. What better way to prepare for fights than having clones training me to be better?

On the things I was definitely grateful for was better reflexes. So when that stab was coming, I reacted by grabbing the hand and jerking the hand until I heard the crunch that spelled I won that little victory.

I made good on it by pulling the clone to me and gave it a swift kick to the face. A poof of smoke later and there was only one of them left in Round one.

The last guy took no chances and went through a set of hands seals. There was something really familiar about those hand sea—

Oh crap!

"**Futon: Renkūdan (**_Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)_**!**"

I jumped to the side just as he finished. I was barely able to get out of the way before a ball of really hard air went straight past me. Behind me I could the sound that could only be described as an explosion.

Moving so that I could have space between me and the KB, I looked through the side of my eye to see the damage done.

Eight. A total of eight trees had been utterly decapitated by that technique. The number of tree limbs lying around were way too many to count and the only that would mark those trees as once being…well actual trees was the stumps.

Holy. Crap.

I turned my head to the clone that had stopped his assault seeing the damage done. Wait, why did he seem so surprised?

He did the Jutsu. He should know what it could do.

"Why are you so surprised? And what the heck was that?"

The clone snapped out of his shock and scratched the back of his head looking sheepish. Oh boy.

"Uh…well I was helping the other clones look over those scrolls you gave us. You know the whole Taijutsu reading thing. And I got kinda bored and decided to look at the other scrolls and found that Jutsu in the Futon scroll.

I looked it over and found out it was called Futon: Renkū sounded sound and the description was pretty cool so I went and practiced the hand seals for it. But before I could do anything else you…kinda…called me over here to fight. When I saw you take out the other guys, I thought a little element of surprise might make things exciting."

He put n a wide smile that gave him—and extension me—a fox-like smile and raised his hands up like he was trying to guard. "It worked didn't it?"

I stared at him with half-lidded eyes. We were both quietly staring at each other.

Then I threw a Kunai at him before he could dodge and he went poof. The information about the Jutsu came flooding into my head and I had to admit: he was right.

It was a strong Jutsu.

Doesn't mean that I still wouldn't have cut the moron.

Turning to the crazy awesome clone standing on one of the tree stumps, I called, "Alright let's start Round 2!"

"Got it Boss-man!" Turning to the rest of the clones, he brought up a fist and proclaimed, "And with that the Boss claims victory in the first match. The Terrible Trio was just not enough to stop his assault. But fear not for this is not the end! For it is time to begin Round 2!

Are you ready, My Brothers!?"

A resounding cheer was the answer. Man, this guy was even louder than I acted.

_**Ting.**_

Hm? What the?

I turned my head towards the trees. I could've sworn I felt something moving around and it made me tense. Like someone was watching the back of my head.

It didn't matter a second later since whoever it was, they were already gone.

Could it have been ANBU? Were they keeping an eye on me with orders from the Old Man?

But if that was the case, why did the sensation I felt seem so…familiar?

"ROUND 2, FIGHT!"

Wait, wha—

_**Punch!**_

Dammit.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

After that day, I spent the next to working on my body and fighting skills. That muscle memory thing that the clone told me about gave me an idea to get more of my old abilities back. And maybe even regain some more memories.

I'd say that it was a success but that would be only half of the truth.

I did get something back. I finally learned the name of the one who taught me how to be a Shinobi.

I finally remembered…him.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Day 4: Sundown**_

I was walking through the destroyed area of the forest I was training in. After the serious workout, I decided to take a break and give my legs a short stretch and take a bit more of the sites in. I usually stuck around the residential parts of Konoha and never really thought about going through the forest.

But I can't help but feel a bit at peace in this place.

It was all so quiet and calm. Nothing like the few constant chatters and people doing stuff back in the village.

I could hear a few birds somewhere in the distance and mostly the wind brushing through my face. Normally I'd be a bit bored just listening to all this but now it feels kinda right.

Like I was in my element.

_**Grr.**_

And now I was hungry. Well it has been awhile since I visited Teuchi-Jiji and Ayame-chan. A little surprise visit might be—

_**BA-BUMP.**_

I stopped. Literally just stopped.

My eyes had become wide. My body was tense and still. On the inside, I could feel my blood begin to pump faster. My lungs were beginning to clog up as my breaths came out in small pants. My heart felt like it was trying to hammer out something but it was too small to do it.

What the hell was happening to me?

_**BA-BUMP.**_

Somehow, despite the pain, my legs began to move forward. I wanted to say that it was me doing this. If I had my way, I would've run back home and gotten into bed or something to it.

It wasn't the Kyūbi. I would've felt something different inside me if that was the case.

No. While I did want to say I had no part in this, I knew it would be a lie. My body was moving to a will.

It was my will. But it wasn't mine.

Crap. I'm just too confused right now.

Soon this walk took me somewhere I just knew was bad news. It also made me wonder what the heck Konoha was doing with such a place.

It felt so…wrong.

It was another forest. Probably just one of many that came with being called Konohagakure no Sato. I probably never even noticed it since I was practically on the other side of the village compared to this place.

But this forest…

There were barbed wire fences erected around the forest. As many as my eyes could see, maybe even more it. The wires were most likely there to scare away little kids and Academy Students from getting to close or even going inside.

Academy student kinda do stupid stuff if we were dared to do it or were so full of ourselves, we'd do it anyway.

I had better things to do than listen to that kinda stuff. Those brats probably would've had me do something that would get my neck broken.

But now, standing a few yards away on a roof, I could see the allure that it had. That place was dangerous. Deadly.

_And just waiting for us…_

_**BA-BUMP.**_

Yes. It was just waiting for me…wait who the hell was that?

_Does it matter? That forest is calling you. Shouldn't you answer? You're more than capable of sneaking in and taking a look._

_**BA-BUMP.**_

_**BA-BUMP.**_

_Come on. It could be fun._

…

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

Movement. Coming from everywhere. There were hostile beasts here. Much larger than anything I've ever read about in books or heard about around the village.

They were predators.

They were ready to eat.

And I had just walked into their den.

So why…

A crunch is heard from my right. Turning slowly I saw a tiger. A large orange colored tiger. Distantly I was reminded of Mizuki, except this one didn't look like that ugly half-man beast that Mizuki had become.

This was a true beast. Those razor sharp claws that were digging through the very earth. Those teeth that were wide open and look like they could easily cleave me in half with no trouble at all. It was huge. Easily taller than me and from the way its legs and body looked a great deal more muscular. Living in this place has no doubt has made it what it is today.

Its eyes locked on to me and it growled. Now I am dinner.

So why…

As it prepared to lunge for me, I tensed. My body and organs began to act up again. There was something. Something that I wanted to see.

Had to see.

But it was just slowly coming. Like it was digging through my head.

So why…why did I…

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback…**_

"_Looks like we got here in time. And here I thought those short legs of yours would take us a whole month." K**g** quipped as he stood next to me._

_I gave him the finger for his trouble. He'll probably double my training for that later but it was worth it. Always looking so smug and giving me so much trouble. He may be stronger than me at the moment but that won't last._

_I will make sure of that._

_Focusing back on the reason we were here on the border of __**Tsuchi no Kuni**__ (Earth Country), I took a moment to spy on our quarry._

_Mercenaries. Or if I can make a guess from their armor: Bandits._

_Sometimes known as the lowest of low when it comes to threats towards a trained Shinobi. Other times, especially to Civilians, these guys were in the top five when it comes to terrors. The first being Bijū, for obvious reasons. The second being…well something they didn't have to worry about anymore. Then it boiled down to Shinobi then Bandits._

_The last was a Natural Disaster but those haven't happened in a long time too._

_And these Bandits have been causing some trouble for the small settlements we've passed by. Ransacks. Killings. Even…even taking women and children. Most likely for slavery or rape. _

_There were only about twelve of them. Not enough to make that much of problem for __**Iwagakure no Sato**__ (Village Hidden by Rocks), at least at the moment. If I'm not mistaken, I could see one or two teenage girls chained next one of the shorter bandits. There were probably more of them in the erected tents sleeping but I'd have to check. I could even see at least three cages filled with young women._

_This group must have been above usual bandit intelligence to plan their attacks and getaways since they haven't been caught yet. Probably weeks in advance. Ko**o*'s Intel on them revealed as much._

_Too bad for them that he'd found out about them from one of their own. The screams were annoying to listen to but soon the man talked and was taken care of. I even learned about sealing heads into scrolls and bounties that day._

_Kinda creepy but a lot better than walking around with a smelly rotting head all day. _

_Now it was time for me to get my first kills in._

_Turning to him, I asked, "So do you want to go first or do you want me to soften them up for you? You shouldn't be moving so much Old man. You'd break that leg again."_

"_No this time you're doing all the work munchkin." He replied._

_He was a somewhat tall man. If those math studies have told me anything, I'd have to say he was close to breaking five foot seven. He was definitely taller than me, that much was sure. I hate being so short._

_He was clothed in dark green camouflage clothing with a bandana and a scarf covering his head. Probably for the best because without everyone would just know him as the Bald Nin. On his back was a folded __Fūma shuriken while two Kunai holsters were wrapped at his hops._

_The other thing people would notice is the lack of those strange headbands that defeat the whole purpose of Shinobi being unidentifiable. _

_He had no village affiliation. _

_He was a Ronin._

_Even now I still don't get why ***** would take him in. He looked like a run of the mill __Chūnin and from what I heard there haven't been any __Chūnin that made a name for themselves. They all became __Jōninor Kage for that to happen. But, before I forgot, he was still a Shinobi and still strong. Can never forget that. "Leaving things to young and inexperienced now. Are you getting soft, old man?"_

"_Psh. Please you're the same age as those crazy strong brats from the Villages. Not as amazing or respectful of your betters but we can work around that."_

_He then crossed his arms and while I couldn't see his face, his dark eyes seemed amused._

"_Besides you are supposed to be the little trained murderer so it's about time you got you're hands bloody. A simple little group of pests like this should be…child's play. Hehe."_

_I never wanted to punch him so much that I wanted to right now._

_He then turned back to the group. Looks like they were getting ready to sleep, judging by the way the one with the female prisoner tugged on her chain._

_I clenched my fist seeing it._

"_Go. I expect them to be dead within before half an hour is up." The disguised Ronin told me. I nodded and went off to get this done._

_It would be my pleasure killing them._

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_It was easy sneaking into the camp from the high trees. I guess I shouldn't have expected that much seeing as while Bandits are deadly, they are below Shinobi when it comes to situational awareness._

_Plus they probably thought they were safe here while they slept or did other things. _

_Big mistake._

_Crouching in a bush, I moved some of the leaves out of the way to get a better look. There were two guards stationed near the cages but they were sitting down and eating. The people behind them were huddled together except for a few who were siting at the edge of the square prison._

_The others, the main twelve, were in their tents preparing to sleep the night away or take another woman to their bed._

_Time to begin._

_Running through the hand seals, I whisper, "__**Henge no Jutsu.**__"_

_In a poof of smoke, I was now like any of the other bandits in the group. Actually I was the one that *o*gou killed. Adding a bit more to it, I gave off the look that I had been in a battle and sustained some injuries. Nothing life threatening but they would look like they hurt. _

_Easiest way to get in._

_Moving with a slight limp, I raised a hand and called, "Boys. Boys help."_

_It was enough. The two guards saw me and dropped their food to rush to my side. The taller one with…is that blue hair? I think it was. Anyway he was the first to get close and grab my shoulder to help me stand._

"_Jaken?! What the hell happened to you?" He asked in shock._

"_Shinobi…from Iwa." Just a little closer now. "Little snot-nosed Genin. __**Cough. **__….Managed to get him before…he got me… _

_Might…be more around." I slumped my head down, faking being knocked out._

"_Hey! Jaken wake up!" He shouted trying to get me to wake up. Good thing that party was so loud._

_Turning to the other guy, he said, "Quick get the boss. We gotta get—"_

_Now._

_Like another training routine, I flowed into it. With a quick pull, Kyuutsuki was free from its sheath._

_**Swish.**_

_With one good swipe, with a little added Chakra, the man's neck was cut open. It was so fast that he didn't even notice until I had already moved to the next target. The other guy managed to open his eyes in shock but before he could open his mouth, I was in the air and kicking him in the throat._

_He went down like a sack of potatoes and I was still following him by the time he hit the floor. When it looked like the pain was about to overtake him, he tried to scream but couldn't due to that kick being strong enough to crush something. _

_Anyway it wouldn't have mattered since by the time my feet hit the floor, making no sound, Kyuutsuki was already on a journey to his heart. Luckily these two guards had taken off the armor due to being complacent. Their mistake._

_Keeping my hand on his mouth, I watched the light go out of his eyes. I should feel bad but these people don't deserve sympathy. Plus a good Shinobi knows when to not let that kinda thing get in the way when they needed to succeed._

_Plus there were others who needed my sympathy more._

_Leaving the bodies behind, I moved towards the cage and watched as the group cowered away in fear. Not surprising but not a good time for it to happen. I needed these people out of here._

_I needed to make a show of good faith. They needed to actually see me without giving away my true identity. Another Henge would suffice but who could I…_

_Wait…maybe._

_After a few seconds of considering, I made a hand seal and in another poof of smoke, I was in another disguise. This time of a young adult with dark hair and blue eyes. My clothing changed into fighting uniform that was the same color as the hair._

_I smiled at them, hoping it would make them feel better. "Listen we don't have much time. I'm a Shinobi sent to get you all free. Do you understand?"_

_They nodded but still looked suspicious. Better than nothing, I suppose._

"_Good. Now I'm going to set you free. When you get out, keep quiet and hide out in the woods. My back-up will show up and get you all back to your village."_

"_Th-there are some of our people still with the bandit." One small boy around my age said looking at me from behind two adults. Most likely his parents._

"_Then I will rescue them as well." But first I needed a way to get these people out. And without the keys, it would take a while._

_I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards my location. Raising my finger to me lips, I hopped to the top of the cage and waited for the newcomer. It was the short one from earlier. The one with the young girl with a chain and collar around her neck. _

_The girl, now that I could see her, was a redhead with tanned skin wearing rags suggesting she was an orphan or very poor. She had her head bowed as she dragged her feet behind the bastard but I could say she was around the same age as me._

_Each time she started to lag, he would pull on the chain and she would move a bit faster. _

…_I was really going to enjoy ending him._

_I didn't know if he had already done anything to her yet but that didn't matter. Since the man coming had the keys swinging around his fingers, he was a bit more important at the moment._

"_Hehehe, tonight's gonna be a fun night~." He said with lilt in his voice. "I get a new girl and another girl from cage. Wonder which one would be the best? The one with brown hair or—"_

_Looks like he finally noticed. You know, I think I want to do something else._

"_What the hell?" He rushed over dragging the girl with him. "Hey you slaves. Where the hell are Ken and Tsuji? They're supposed to be on guard du—what the…?"_

_Now he sees the dead bodies. Not very quick, this one. It managed to get the girl's attention and while she was shocked, I saw her hands clench. In anger? Envy? Excitement?_

_Silently hopping off the roof, I landed behind him and the girl, once more making the prisoners silence themselves with a gesture._

"_Quite messy isn't it?"_

_Both the man and girl turned around at the sound of my voice. Both were surprised seeing a lowly teenager somehow strolling onto the camp without anyone knowing. As for me, I just looked back at them with a small smile._

_It creeped them out. Success._

"_I know it's not my best work. I mean, I just left them on the ground to bleed out. That seems to be a rude but I was pressed for time. If you had given five more minutes, I'm quite sure I could have come up with something better."_

_I began to slowly step forward._

"_But I guess that doesn't matter now, right?"_

"_Wha-what the f**k?! Who the hell are you, Monster?!" the bandit yelled reaching for his blade—a __**wakizashi**__ (short sword)—and consequently letting the girl's chain go. _

"_Oh me?" I asked taking Kyuutsuki out. "I'm just a distraction for the Shinobi about to gut you from behind."_

_My ploy worked and the guy swung around to kill the imaginary killer before he could be killed. I wondered what his expression was when he realized he had been tricked._

_But then something unexpected happened._

_The girl had taken the chain and wrapped around the bandit's neck. Giving it a sharp tug, she managed to not only make him fall back but severely choke him into shock. _

_With that out of the way, she quickly moved to the man's dropped sword and without a second thought, plunged it into his chest._

_He squawked in pain as the blade pierced his heart. His last vision before death would be the snarling rage upon the girl he had planned to rape._

"_Rot in hell, you little f**ker." She growled giving the blade a twist. Good for her._

_When he was finally dead, she took the blade out and just stood there. No one said anything and just let the moment sink in._

_However I was still on a dead-line and had to move quickly. That shout may have awoken the others and I still had about eleven more to kill._

_Scooping the keys, I went to work on the lock and opened it up. The group inside was hesitant to leave at first, their eyes moving between me and the girl. Both of us had pretty much killed the men who had imprisoned them in cold blood._

_However the relief that some of the men were dead and that the others would soon follow gave them the rush needed to move. _

_I directed them to the forest and told them again to keep themselves quiet. _

_With that out of the way, I turned towards the camp. If I had to guess, this little issue had probably cost me three to seven minutes at best. Time to get the rest done._

_I was once again surprised to see the girl shove past me, bloody sword clenched in her hands._

"_What are you doing?" I said quickly stopping her. She tried to run me through but it was easy to disable her with a hand strung behind her back and my hand covering her mouth._

"_If you attempt to make noise or bite me, I will kill you here and now. I just want to know what you're up to. Understand?"_

_She glared at me at the corner of her eye but soon nodded. I moved my hand away so that she could speak._

"_I want to kill every last one of those s**t-eating faggots dead. They ransacked the village I lived in and tried to **cking rape me."_

"_I can see that anger but I can easily take care of that."_

"_I don't need help from you, *hi*-head. I may have gotten caught but I can take care of any of these limp-di**ed bastards."_

"_Do you whistle with that mouth? Seriously?"_

"_Fu** you."_

_Okay. Now I was getting annoyed. She's feisty though._

"_So explain to me why I shouldn't just knock you out, put you somewhere safe, and get back to business? You can get killed if you're not careful."_

"_Why the hell do you give a damn?"_

…

"_Because death is the end. When you're dead, that's it. No more life. No more doing what you want or what you could do. You're just gone and buried in the dirt._

_Do you really want that?"_

"_I can take care of myself. And besides if I just let pricks like them go off and do what they want, how's the f**k's that for a living huh?"_

_I groaned. She had me there and quite frankly she was kinda right. Letting them get away with this would not feel right but was it worth it just to let her get her blood lust going?_

…

_You know what? Screw it. I'm on a time limit._

"_Alright then," I said releasing her. I also picked up the short sword and handed it to her while she looked at me with a sneering and suspicious eye._

"_We'd better get to work then shouldn't we?"_

_She still looked wary…or just angry and took the sword. "Just who the hell are you, s**t-head?"_

"_Hm…" I tilted my head to the side. _

_Well that was a good question. I wasn't ready for a big Bingo Book thing and this Henge could be useful for throwing people of my true trail. But I needed a name or title. Something cool but still fear inducing._

_But what…_

…_**You are supposed to be the little trained monster…**_

…_**Who the hell are you, Monster?!…**_

…_That could work._

"_No one really," I said moving towards the other camps. There was a ruckus going on. I've wasted enough time._

"_Just a __**Satsujinki **__(Killing Demon)."_

_Demon. Killer. Monster. It won't matter when I finally get truly strong. Then I'll finally be able to protect them. And as I showed to the rest of that little group just how far I'd go, I will not falter no matter who or how many get in my way._

_I won't be afraid anymore. I won't be weak anymore._

_Just wait, Kongou. I'll show you. I'll show **** ** you._

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Flashback over…**_

_Swish._

It was completely on instinct. A muscle memory that I've long forgotten that I learned in my mind but I truly remember in my body. It was as simple as the morning stretches or a simple punch that we had to practice like fifty or a hundred times a day.

A word came to my mind when it was over. A familiar word that sounded more like a technique.

"**Sensa** (_Flash Sheath_)."

So with that simple swipe from muscle memory, I cut the Tiger.

I don't remember when I released my ability to see the lines but I did see them now. The tiger had a few going along its upper body with a couple of dark circles. I didn't go for the circles. The lines were easier to get to.

From between its eyes to back of the head, I traced the first line. Then from the third claw from the right paw to the kidney. The stomach to the right ankle. The left shoulder to the rib cage.

And it was done.

I could feel the hot sensation as the beasts blood splashed on my clothes and on my cheeks. Once more it brought back that images of when I was very small watching a monster kill my family and myself killing those bandits.

Both of us were so strong. So…terrifying. Like true monsters.

Am I still a monster? I don't want to think that I am. I am not some trained thing by Kongou anymore. I'm my own person. My own Shinobi…that works for a bunch of people I don't like but that part didn't mean much.

Those guys at the post office can suck it up for their money, so can I. At least until someone tries something that _will _get them killed.

I was here for too long. It was probably night time by now. Time to go home and sleep while I could. I still had four more days to go and more train—actually I think I could take a day off.

Maybe I should go visit Ayame and the others. It feels like I haven't seen them in awhile…because I haven't.

Great. Now I'm a jerk. Gotta fix this soon.

But even as I walked out of the forest, checking the area because I could've sworn I felt someone watching me, there was an uncomfortable pit in my stomach. I knew what it was but didn't want to accept it.

After all, even if I'm not and don't want to be a monster anymore, I couldn't help but feel it.

So why…did I feel unsatisfied…

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

So after half the week went by, I decided to take a break for at least two days. I remember Iruka-sensei saying that while having a good training schedule was well and good, we need to have days off to relax or we'll burn out.

Or go crazy. Either one is bad really.

So to that end I decided that hanging out with Ayame was a priority, especially since I really can't recall if I had stopped by and really talked to her and Teuchi-jiji all that much.

Crap. I'd better get this fixed before I really get it.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Day 5 Relaxation**_

_**Morning**_

I woke up a bit more relaxed than yesterday. The lingering dream and memories were still there and managed to dance around my mind before I shook it. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in bad memories.

Today was my day off.

But…I still needed to get my new uniform cleaned. Plus get some more clothing like it. The old tracksuit was fine and good but I've really grown to like the fighting suit. I mean I've already broken it in by fighting in it after all.

Wonder if I can find a store like that around here?

After a quick shower and breakfast, I got dressed in the old black and orange tracksuit—complete with the goggles since I wanted to hold off on damaging the headband during the training—and hopped out to begin the day.

First stop would be—

_**BOOM.**_

Whoa! What the hell?! Are we being attacked?! Did someone sneak in again?! What—

Oh. It was just that girl's house. Well it would explain why the explosion had green smoke.

…Wait. No it doesn't. Why is there green smoke?

Well it's not my problem. If it's her, then the ANBU will handle it or she took care to make sure that the explosion didn't spread anywhere else…hopefully.

Jumping past a few houses in my residential district, I soon was in the restaurant area of the Market District. A few shops were up and running like the grocers, the cleaners, even some novelty shop that was brought up a couple of years ago.

But they weren't what I was looking for on this cloudy but still pretty nice day. And lo and behold I have finally made it.

"Hey Teuchi-Jiji! Ayame-chan!" I shouted as I walked up to the stand.

The old man turned from his cooking to smile at me. "Ah, Naruto, my boy! Good morning."

"Morning." I replied taking a seat. "Where's Ayame?"

"Naruto you of all people should know she has classes today." He said giving me the look. I scratched the back of my in embarrassment.

I can't believe I forgot about Ayame's school schedule.

"So what will ya have? The usual?"

I nodded and began the slow waiting game. Ah the usual minutes it takes to cook ramen the right way. One of my greater foes.

Since I was waiting anyway, I decided to swing around and take in the sights. There really wasn't much to look at since it wasn't even eleven yet but the businesses were up and open. I'm pretty sure the other graduates my age were using these days to sleep as long as they could. Well those that most likely weren't training, anyway.

Now that I think about the other Genin, I couldn't help but wonder who I was going to be put on a team with. How do they set up teams anyway?

With how well do in certain areas?

By how well we get along?

I wonder how cool it would be with a team with two girls.

Maybe Iruka-sensei could tell me.

"Something on your mind boy?" I turned around to see Teuchi with a bowl of Miso ramen.

"Just wondering about what team I would be getting." I broke my chopsticks apart and prepared to dig in. "**Itadakimasu** (_Let's eat)_."

"Feeling cold feet already?" Teuchi had a smirk when he asked that.

"No. Nothing like that. If I don't like them, I don't like them." I paused to slurp some noodles. "I just want to get to the part where I get to go out into the world and do missions. I wanna travel to other places and get stronger. And get paid for it too."

"Well there tends to be bumps on the road to getting things that we want. If there wasn't, I'd probably have a bigger shop with a full course dinner menu."

Slurping up the last of the noodles, I asked "You trying to expand or something, Jiji?"

"Well its not like I don't like my Ichiraku but you know, maybe a bit more money would be nice. Give the place a new shine and maybe hire some help. Ayame's may want to get a new career of her own soon and I'm gonna need help later on down the line."

Teuchi said all this with a smile on his face.

Well it makes sense I guess. Ayame might want to go into something else besides the awesome and much needed job of cooking noodles and Teuchi-jiji would support her. I would do the same by the way.

Now that I think about it, what kind of career would Ayame go into? I think we talked about it sometime ago, I kinda forgot about it. Something about those electric devices they have back in the Capitol?

"Though as long as you're around, I can expect to reach that quota in maybe a few more months, eh Naruto?"

"You bet, Jiji." I replied after slurping up the broth. Mmn. Delicious.

"Naruto! **Tou-san** (_Father)_!"

Both the old man and me turned around to see Ayame coming towards us, waving a hand in the air. She wasn't wearing the usual waitress uniform I see her in whenever I come to Ichiraku's. Now she was wearing a light blue shirt with no sleeves, cream white pants, and a pair of sandals.

Not a bad look.

"Hey Ayame. Looking great as always."

"Well thank you, Naruto." She smiled while ruffling my hair. So we're back to this now? I'm pretty much as tall as you are and yet I get the head treatment.

…Wait that didn't sound right.

"By the way, why are you back in the old black and orange? That old suit I saw at your place looked pretty nice."

"Well its old and kinda small for me. I was actually gonna look for a clothing store to get it remade to fit my size after stopping by here for a bite to eat."

"Oh? Cloth shopping?" She asked in a weird voice. Wait, what's with that glint in her eye? Why was Teuchi-jiji smiling like that?

The heck was going on?!

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"You know, I was actually looking into buying more Shinobi stuff." I grumbled as I stood still inside the changing booth looking at myself in the mirror wearing a blue wife beater.

Apparently when Ayame heard that I was looking for new clothing, she took this as a mission to get me more clothing that existed outside of my usual favorite: that being orange. Now I was cool with other colors but Orange just appealed to me a lot more. Black was cool too.

But before I could get a chance to realize what was going to happen, Ayame had already snatched me up and now here we were. At the local shopping mall looking for some regular clothes for me.

For the fifteenth time since Ayame seems to want my clothes to match better or display my charms or some crap like that.

Why can't I just get something I think is cool?

"That doesn't mean you can't pick up some regular clothes Naruto. Having some variety is good for you." She replied from the other side of the curtain. "Besides if you went out as a ninja all the time, people would forever remember you as a ninja. Shouldn't you have regular clothes to you know, blend in?"

"Point taken but shouldn't I be looking at the clothes?"

"But then you'd get a lot of orange and black, which is something people could identify you with later on. Regular people do switch their wardrobe around at time Naruto. Remember that."

"Yeah. Yeah." I pulled on a pair of long shorts and looked over myself. Meh, not bad I guess.

"How's it looking?" Ayame asked as she pulled the curtain back a bit to look inside.

"What the hell, Ayame?!"

"What? You are dressed and it's not like I haven't seen you before." She tossed me a white shirt and a pair of blue pants.

"Now try those on too. If they're great then we can get out of here. And I do want to see you walk around in them buster. Understand?"

I was about to say something else but then I looked at her face. While she did have that stern look that Teuchi-jiji has mastered I could kinda see a smile she was trying to keep off her face so that she could keep the stern look. She was actually having a lot of fun. With me.

She could be out somewhere with her friends at school and she has quite a few. I should know.

She could be out on a date with some guy—well not some guy. He'd have to pass a lot of tests to make sure he was on the level—and seeing the sites outside the village.

And yet she was here. Having fun just by helping me get new clothes.

"…Hai, Ayame-sama." I drawled taking the shirt. Looked kinda big for me though.

The smile that Ayame gave was bright. So very bright and honest. I wonder if she'll keep that up even as the years continue to go by and I'm out there, killing people to protect Konoha's so called peace.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

After another hour of looking for clothing—with very dreadful memories of underwear shopping—I picked up some shirts, pants, and shorts. Luckily I had saved enough of the old Orphan stipend and the weekly allowance the Arima's sent over. While food would usually come from hunting in the woods since the vendors could be a bunch of a$$holes, I still managed to get it with good old ninja tactics.

I even left half the full price behind. If they wouldn't take my money at full price or at a crazy price that no one would pay, they would have to settle for half.

Strange that this time getting stuff wasn't that much of a hassle. Maybe it had to deal with those weird looks I got on the way out.

After taking my new stuff home, I walked Ayame back home and said goodbye to her and Teuchi for the day. They still had the lunch and dinner rush to deal with after all and went alone to a local Shinobi store.

The Higurashi Tools. Not much of an imaginative name.

A two floor dark brown building with a backroom that had black smoke coming out of the chimney. The smell of metal, fire, and grease was heavy here.

"Well it's the one closest to home." I walked up to the front door and went inside. A small chime of bells rung overhead.

Inside the shop had to be the most expansive weapon's locker I have ever seen. All over the store in neat categories were the tools any ninja—hell any person—needed for training to actual usage. For ninja tools: shuriken and kunai, both blunt and lethal. Bladed weapons ranging from a chain and sickle to tantos. Ninja wire. And in a small case, chakra ink and paper for Fūinjutsu.

The other weapons were regular melee weapons for both ninjas and civilians. Swords. Staffs. Knives. Gauntlets and Armor.

Just about everything needed to fight.

"Welcome to Higurashi Tools. Can I help—hey! I know you!"

I turned to the counter see a girl about my age coming in from the back entrance. She had brown hair and grey eyes. Her clothing was a long-sleeved white blouse with red edges with red hakama pants, blue sandals, and some fingerless gloves.

Wait. What was up with her hair?

They were pulled into two little buns and both side of her head. Together they made her look like a panda.

And she says she knew me. Well the whole village knows me so that wasn't that big of a deal. "Huh?"

"You're that Uzumaki guy. The one that painted the Kage Mountain a few days ago and the Hyūga mansion a few months before."

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about."

"But I know it was you. Everyone does. You just didn't get caught." She finally said while giving a look. "If you're here for a prank, I will hurt you."

Suddenly a couple of Kunai appeared on her fingers, twirling around in a twin windmill way. Where'd they come from?

"Uh…even if I was this amazing and dashing prankster," she scoffed at the description but I ignored that, "I don't think you have to worry about that."

She really didn't have anything to fear or ready to fight. Those pranks were either revenge plays or just something for the hell of it. I'm not a jerk that just goes after people at random.

"I'm here to get some weapons for my team evaluations and future missions."

She blinked for a second before a smirk spread on her admittedly cute face, "Team evaluations. So you're one of the new rookies, huh? Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself, little guy?"

"Oi…" I was not little. I was taller than her!

She giggled at my angered look. It wasn't meant to be funny. "Sorry. Sorry. It's just that you're the twentieth rookie to come by this week telling me that you were gearing up to go outside the village for missions. I can't even remember the last time I said something like that."

She paused to tilt her head to the side.

"Oh wait I didn't."

"You're a ninja? What rank?"

"Genin. Been one for a full year now." She said with a smile.

Wow. She's actually been out there in the world too. Wonder how many people she's had to kill?

"Why do you think I won't be getting missions soon?"

"Oh~ I'm not aloud to say. Isn't that something that you should be looking into, Mr. Rookie?"

"You already know my name so why don't you use it?"

"But as a **Senpai** (_Upperclassman_), I have bragging rights to all the little green **Kohai** (_Underclassman_) that are just starting out. That includes you."

She said pinching my cheek. What a weird girl.

In the end the girl, who I found out was named Tenten Higurashi the daughter of the weapons smith and cloth maker, was helpful in getting some quality Kunai and Shuriken. I've never seen cleaner blades before. And so razor sharp.

Much better than the usual place I have to…ninja tactic them away from.

Tenten even tested the merchandise on a couple of conveniently placed training dummies. I then learned that her name may have a bigger meaning than sounding funny. Seriously perfect accuracy with double ten hits. What crazy eyes.

But when I asked her how the hell she became that good, she smirked again and muttered something about perfect targets and something about the color green.

And just like that, I have discovered yet another weird girl in a growing list of Kunoichi in this village. Hopefully she's not a fangirl as well.

Going back to buying stuff, I managed to pick up a few containers for Chakra ink. Something I could definitely use when I stock up on explosive notes. And believe me; I was going to be making a lot of those notes.

Hehehe.

While I was busy looking through getting some armor—hey you never know—I heard a girl come in and ask for whether her custom blade was ready. She walked out before I could see what it looked like or who she was but it had me curious.

Custom blade work. Wonder if I can get duplicates for Kyuutsuki here?

Asking about it, I learned that not only did they do blade work but clothing as well, specializing in ninja mesh armor. I managed to ask for some duplicates for my new combat uniform and all I needed was to bring the original in so that they have a reference.

Though I had to stomach Tenten's constant reminding of me being a Kohai, her telling me good luck on the evaluations had me suspicious.

Was there something more to the evaluations? Maybe a secret test? I unfortunately couldn't get more info since some crazy duo in green spandex came charging to see Tenten.

Seeing the clothing, the eyebrows, and the fact that they could be louder than me—something even I didn't think was possible—I decided to get the crap out while I still could.

Tenten apparently knew them so she could handle them by herself. She was probably tough like that.

This didn't make the whole secret possible test thing leave my head. Guess it makes sense for me to either be fighting with or against other people to secure my place. I probably didn't hear about it so that the test could keep its whole shadowy secret deal.

Not that I was worried. I have this in the bag.

And if they cook up the best that they had for me this time? With only two days ago, I'll just set things up.

Time for a little…mischief.

_Chapter 4 End…_

_Next time:_

"_**Well Naruto if you had been here on time, you would have been here for the team assignments but luckily for you, this was not the case."**_

_The next step begins._

"_**Its part of the duty we all have to do as Shinobi."**_

"_**As I said, the three of you share a great strength…"**_

_New faces._

"_**Got my emergency weapons stashed in their usual places. Got the seeable ones in the weapon pouch. Got my battle clothes all clean and ready to show off today. I'm all set to go."**_

_**My mind was clear and my body was at comfortable levels. I was ready. No matter what the next test may come, I will not falter in my path.**_

_New challenges._

"_**Dammit!" I yelled as I scrambled around. I can't believe this bulls&%t!**_

"_**Wow, you guys sure are jumpy…"**_

_And so the team is brought forth._

_**This was the new team I had to work with...**_

"_**Sup, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Who're you guys?"**_

_But can they truly become one team?_

"_**You see certain circumstances have caused me to have a direct hand in the team assignments for this term."**_

_**Kyuutsuki no Uzumaki**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Teams**_

AJ Katon out.


	5. Teams

Kyuutsuki No Uzumaki

By

AJ Katon

Disclaimer: I do not own Natsu-verse or Naruto seeing as they belong to their respective owners. I do own the various OC's that may be introduced later on.

_Arc 1: Maelstrom Konoha_

_Chapter 5: Teams_

_**Day of Team Assignments**_

_**At Dawn**_

_**7:45 am**_

By the time the sun had risen, I could feel the last dregs of my dreams fade away as I showered. It was a rather uneventful one but it did do some good in giving me peace so that I could rest comfortably. I had no need to see myself battling bandits or enemies in my dreams.

For today was the day that any so called dream would become a reality.

Turning the cascading hot water off, I stepped out to continue the morning grooming. It took to less than thirty minutes to clean up and change into my new attire. It has been my routine ever since **Okaa-san** (_Mother_) and **Tou-san** (_Father_) brought our family to Konoha to both further my training and to give our family a base to establish our soon to be clan in a reputable village.

Tou-san had been leery of Konoha at first. Actually he was leery of Shinobi villages as a whole due to his past experiences with them.

The Hidden Villages were places of power and, most likely, places of corruption due to the jobs Shinobi had to undertake, as well as the many backroom ideas and manipulations that affect not only those who know of them but those who do not.

But not only did we have money thanks to his new job as a self-defense instructor for the civilian population as well as a part-time Kendo-Sensei for the Academy, but we also have a suitable and well-defended place to live after leaving our last village.

Konoha happened to be closest and, through what he learned of it, the safest.

Two hours later, I had finished eating with my parents and had left home after saying goodbye.

As I began my walk to the Academy, passing the few establishments that were beginning to open, I cannot help but have a small bubble of excitement develop within. After so many years of training, of striving for the skill to make myself strong, of the pain from...setbacks and disappoints, my efforts have paid off so far.

Fixing the headband fastened across my brow, I clenched my last accessory.

My katana. A custom-made blade by one of the best weapons-smith in the village courtesy of Tou-san and myself. He has kept it safe in storage with the Higurashi family until I was deemed ready to take it.

I had earned that right when I acquired the Genin headband.

Now I must maintain it.

Not minding the people who were beginning to wake up around me, I eventually came upon the Academy. The doors were opened and ready to admit the new Genin into their classrooms. I came upon the class taught by Chūnin-sensei Funeno Daikoku-sensei.

My classroom.

I took a moment to let this sink in.

From this day forward, my training was going to be put to the true test. I was going to be putting my life on the line.

For money.

For the prestige.

For my own strength and skill.

For those three things, I could…die. I could be…

_No_.

I clenched my fists, close enough to draw blood. This was unacceptable. I accepted the possibly of death years ago when I asked Tou-san for training. I cannot go back on it now.

I will not.

I took a long slow breath. Going overboard with my emotions might cheapen this moment. I must keep up my image as the Kunoichi everyone knows me for.

To be strong.

To have the presence of a warrior that many will fear and come to respect. Not like _those_ girls in Umino-sensei's class. The fact that The Administrators allow them to continue Shinobi training without curbing that mindset they have is just…disgusting.

I pray that Umino-sensei sees reason and disassembles whatever team they are on before it's too late.

Walking into the class, I took a seat at the higher desks and set my sword on my lap. And now I had to wait. Funeno-sensei shall be here around ten, I believe.

I shall take this moment to meditate on the possibilities of future battles.

After all, a Shinobi must prepare for anything before it was too late to do so.

As the time went by other students began to file in and take the seats that had at least one seat keeping them from me. It was for the best in my opinion. They would most likely to talk about frivolous things or boast about their new status. I had no particular interest in doing such a thing so I politely declined any gossip or whatever else they had in mind.

I heard the door open and opened my eyes. Funeno-sensei had come and was giving the class that friendly smile he always had whenever it came to congratulations.

"Well gang today's the day. Now settle down and listen up. It's time to discuss you're futures."

I sat up straight as he began his speech. Soon I will be in a team and my real battles will begin.

My mind was clear and my body was at comfortable levels. I was ready.

No matter what the next test may come, I will not falter in my path.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Early Morning**_

_**9:00 am**_

_Snore._

_Snore._

_Snore._

_Sn—_

_**Beep. Beep.**_

"Mnng….mnh?" What was that racket? I was trying to sleep.

_**Beep. Beep.**_

"Mrple cmpck." I slapped down the annoying buzzer. Hmpf. Why must the most useful things be the ones that cause so much pain?

It's a struggle for the working smart people to wake up. When one has dedication, they must make small sacrifices in order to make their discoveries and works become the best that they can. That means experimentation upon experimentation, even unto the late of night.

Who needs sleep anyway when you've finally gotten to the most important part after days of crappy failures?

"Ayano will you wake up already?! You've got team evaluations today!" the voice of an older woman shouted from downstairs.

"Alright. I'm up." I jumped out of the bed and straightened up. Shaking the drowsiness from my system was an easy effort, especially when you had to help your parents in their respective jobs when called upon.

I thought it wasn't that big of a deal.

For the exchange of helping me learn to wake up quickly, I was able to actually wake up and get straight to work on my interests.

Speed makes for extra time. And extra time is what it's all about.

After a short shower and other bathroom activities which ended in me fixing my hair—managing to tie, at the least, one long strand into a ponytail didn't mean a lot but it helped_—_I changed into some good house clothes and headed downstairs to eat. Seeing not only Tou-san reading the paper with Mom fixing up a few more things but breakfast on the table, I plopped down and began my feast.

Mnn. Delicious eggs.

"You all set, Sweetie?"

I turned my head to nod at Tou-san. He was beaming at me with pride behind those round glasses of his. As he should after all. First generation of Ninja in our family does sound pretty amazing.

"Got my emergency weapons stashed in their usual places. Got the seeable ones in the weapon pouch. Got my battle clothes all clean and ready to show off today. I'm all set to go."

I took a second to finish off my food. I had some time before the evaluation. Now seems like a good time to change clothes.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" My Kaa-san stopped me before I could up the stairs. "Something important?"

I looked at her in confusion. What could she be talking about? I already went through the checklist of what was important: my clothes and all the things I need to hurt people. These were the essential parts that Ninja should have on them at all times.

My brilliant mind was another item I shouldn't be without but it goes without saying that I always have it ready for use.

So I could only continue to give my cranky-looking mother the weird look si—

"The Head-band, Ayano. The Head-band." She dryly said poking her open forehead.

"Oh is that all?" So I did forget something. "Well they already know I'm a graduate so I don't really need to wear it, right?"

"And what if there is a secret test requires you to show up with the headband? They could automatically take you off their roster and make you go for another year of schooling. Or worse another five!"

"Mom, that's just being silly now. No one would make a test like that."

"Sweetie, they're ninja. They can shoot fireballs from their mouths and can jump from really high places, like mountains, and land gracefully. Also they are all about secrets right?

Learning about them and trying to figure them?

Well do they sound like the kind of people who wouldn't have a complicated and crazy test that anyone normal would think of?"

…

"…I'll go get it."

Sometimes I wish it was Dad instead Mom that used the crazy logic card. At least he would make it fun.

I still think the headband wasn't that big of a deal. I have it but do I really need to have it at all times? Besides, isn't the point of being a Ninja not to have a way people can identify you?

I should ask Suzume-sensei about this later.

When I had everything together, I left the house and went straight for the Academy…well actually I stopped by the store to buy a snack.

What? I have a sweet tooth and if this is gonna be a long day, I'm gonna need something to curb my hunger.

See? Thinking ahead.

I passed some of the kids in the other classrooms on the way. I recognized a couple to be the ones taught by that one Chūnin that could do that weird Giant Head technique.

Who would spend time to actually make a Jutsu like that?

The other students I really notice was that one girl from that rich Shinobi clan with the pale eyes walking quietly with her head down. Though I do hope she remains cautious about that dog-boy coming up behind her. He's a pervert. I was ninety percent sure on this.

Him and his little dog that he talks to.

For all we know, he probably has it run under all the Kunoichi skirts to relay who wears what.

I was not alone in that assumption mind you. There was a Kunoichi Conglomerate from all the classes watching for the boys that would use their ninja abilities to peek on girls.

Constant Vigilance. It's the best way to be prepared.

Anyway back to the Academy. My classroom was located at the back, close to the Administration building where Hokage-sama apparently sends out missions. The class was pretty full with the other twenty seven classmates and Suzume-sensei was coming right up behind me. Looks like I managed to make it here on time.

"Hey over here!"

I turned to the voice and saw one of my friends and customers in the middle row. Well as long as we have time, I might as well see if I can get a couple of Ryo.

After all, a good Shinobi should always make use of a good opportunity.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**10:00 AM**_

"All right everyone, pipe down please." Umino Iruka told the young Shinobi in his class. It was finally time for the announcements of teams but he was having a rough time since everyone was still a bit hyper from knowing that today would be the day that they officially become Ninja. Soon they would be off doing the cool things that they heard that Ninja could do and traveling to other countries.

All for the Will of Fire and Honor of Konoha.

Oh and money. Can't forget about the money.

However if he was going to get things done, he would need quiet to not only do his speech, but to establish some sort of order out of this rowdy bunch.

And low and behold, he had the best method.

"QUIET DOWN, YOU BRATS!"

Silence was immediately brought in.

Iruka smirked at the quiet. _Yup. I still got._

"Now then, let me first say that I am proud of all of you. You've taken all the time and effort spent these last few years. You've proven that you can take your tasks seriously and that with time, you can become great at something and achieve much. But remember that you are still rookies and the road ahead only gets harder from here on.

I hope that you take the skills that you've learned so far and use them well in the outside world and continue to improve yourselves. Also now that you all will have duties to perform for the Village you will be put into three man teams with a Jōnin-sensei.

Be sure to complete these duties to the best that you have.

Remember: out there you represent Konoha and the Will of Fire. Be sure to represent us well."

"Hai Iruka-sensei!" The collective teens replied.

Iruka smiled at them. Despite all the annoying crap he had to deal with when they were younger, he really was proud to see them here. Now he just had to make sure that they were really ready for the outside.

However there was something that caught the brown-skinned Chūnin's attention.

_Where is Naruto?_

The blonde should've been one of the many people that arrive here on time for something as important as this. Sure there were a couple of times when he showed up half an hour or even a whole hour later but those were few and far between.

Well except for those times when he didn't show up because he was obviously planning a major prank for somebody. Now if only Iruka could've found the evidence behind this theory. The prankster in him knew Naruto was doing them but the blonde hid it so well…

Iruka shook his head. That phase of their lives was over now with Naruto's graduation. There were more important things to think about.

So why was Naruto late this time?

_He'll come in soon anyway._ Iruka eventually thought with a shrug. _Plus it'll let me get the others out of the way before I have to assign him._

* * *

_**With Naruto…**_

"Dammit!" I yelled as I scrambled to get cleaned up and ready.

I can't believe this bulls&%t! I've been preparing for this day for the last few days.

Improving my jutsu. Fighting with my Kage Bunshin with my hands and weapons. Making and learning seals. Reading all I could from those scrolls.

I've even gone over that stupid Shinobi Conduct Rule book!

And after all that hard work and super reading, I even went to bed early so that I could be one of the first ones there. Well…I didn't really have a real reason for arriving early but it was the principle of the matter.

I said I would and I was going to do it.

But when I woke up, I found out something so annoying that it makes my eye twitch just remembering it.

I…had forgotten to replace my alarm clock.

It wasn't really that big of a deal since I haven't had a wake up time for the last couple of days. Other than hanging around Ichiraku's, training with Hinata, and getting my new clothes together, I was pretty busy getting back into shape for today. I guess I was maybe too tired to remember that I broke it or that after everything that's happened I just flat out forgot.

It didn't change the fact that I didn't wake up at the time I wanted and now I was freakin' running to get there before Iruka-Sensei did!

I could get there quickly if I kept this pace but there had to be a way to get there in under the next couple of minutes. Maybe if I…

Oh I just had a great idea.

* * *

_**Back at Iruka's Class…**_

"Now then for Team Seven: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Sai."

"YES! IN ALL YOUR FACES, SHAANARO!" Screamed a certain girl, the aptly named Sakura Haruno. A girl of sixteen years with long pink hair that went to her waist and green eyes.

The other two members of the new Team seven were…not as ecstatic.

Both were raven haired boys of sixteen years of age and both had pale skin, though the one with the smile on his face, which was Sai, was an even greater shade of white.

The one that wasn't smiling was Sasuke Uchiha.

The "Last Loyal" Uchiha sighed mentally at his team choice. While Sai had proven himself competent, despite being a jackass with weird penis jokes, the fact that one of Sasuke's self proclaimed fans was going to be following close behind him now did _not_ sit well with him.

Thank god she, or the others, weren't really good at being at stealth or else he'd have to re-check his locks or keep his sword under his pillow again.

"For Team Eight, we have Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame."

The Hyūga girl nodded but felt a bit down trodden. While she did get to train with Naruto during their week off, she still hoped they would be on the same team. Oh well.

Kiba, a black hoodie wearing boy with a large white dog named Akamaru sitting at his side, smirked confidently. Not bad picks as far as he was concerned. Shino was a bit weird but nothing he couldn't handle and Hinata was just adorable. He'd be leading this team in no time.

Shino, sporting a grey hoodie that covered his facial features, also had no problems with the arrangement.

"And finally for Team Ten, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka."

"Ah, dammit!" The aforementioned blonde girl shouted before face planting her desk. Her fellow teammate, Shikamaru smirked from his seat next to her.

Sometimes life just entertains you.

"Now that you know who you're teammates are, you should take this lunch time to get to know each other better. When you are finished meet back in this room so that you're Jounin-Sensei can pick you up." Iruka gathered his materials and was finally ready to leave for lunch himself.

Plus his wounds still felt a bit tender despite the week off.

"Yo Sensei? What about Naruto?" a voice called out to him.

Iruka blinked in confusion before he realized that it was Kiba that asked the question. Huh. He always figured that the **Nin-ken** (_Ninja Dog)_ Genin didn't like Naruto given how much the two fought and how far Kiba seemed to put distance between the two.

Not only him but Shino as well…

"Shouldn't that blonde goofball be on a team too? Matter of fact, how come he isn't her—"

_CRASH!_

It happened in a flash.

The window had just been broken into as something unknown had just crashed through and kicked up a dust cloud as it skidded across the floor. This set off Iruka's instincts and while he did manage to get out a Kunai, his back injuries pulsed causing him to halt in his assault.

Luckily Iruka wasn't the only one who thought it would be smart to be ready to take down whatever the crasher was before it could do any harm. The students who armed themselves, which was about half the class, waited with bated breaths and Jutsu ready to be unleashed if need be.

So it came to a big surprise when the dust cloud finally dispersed and the thing within turned out to be…

"A training doll?" asked a Kunoichi on the far right.

"EH?!" Commented the rest.

"Wow, you guys sure are jumpy over a training doll."

As one synchronized unit, the class turned their heads towards the voice which was situated in the last remaining seat in the back of the classroom.

And sitting in this seat with his feet propped on the desk was none other than Naruto Uzumaki.

The blonde was smirking with his eyes closed, giving him a vulpine look. His clothing caught the attention of everyone, mostly the girls seeing as it gained him one or two points in the coolness or handsome meter.

A black battle shirt with long sleeves. Black pants that seemed a bit baggy with a pair of dark blue shoes. To cap it all of was the black headband across his forehead and the burnt orange sash tied around his waist.

It was a sure change from the orange and black jumpsuit he had on just a week ago.

Seeing them all staring at him, the blonde tilted his head in question. "What's up with you all? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"NARUTO!"

The blonde didn't look particularly threatened at the angry show ninja in front of him. If anything, he looked like he was just playing up the confused role.

On the inside though, he enjoyed the reactions. Ahh, just another show with great results.

"So what did I miss?" He asked, turning his attention to Iruka. His answer was a piece of chalk to the face.

"Ow!"

The Chūnin rubbed his face. The annoying things that the Uzumaki could get into were going to be the death of him one day. Well maybe not the death since by then he'll be happily retired from teaching.

_If there's any consolation, it's that there won't be any more Narutos after this class._

The man would have no clue that a certain Sarutobi would continue the prankster theme.

"Well Naruto if you had been here on time, you would have been here for the team assignments but luckily for you, this was not the case."

"So I'm not late."

"No. I've just finished announcing all the teams for this class. You however are not on the roster for any team in this classroom."

"WHAT? Why not?"

"I'll explain soon but privately. As for the rest of you, I'm letting you all out for lunch. Good luck to you all."

As the groups got up to leave, Iruka's steely voice called out, "Not you, Naruto."

"Eh?"

Pointing towards the broken glass on the floor, the last Umino gave the blonde his best "Teacher's Glare".

"Did you really think I'd let you go without fixing that window?"

"Ah but you see Iruka-sensei, I've been bac—Ow!" Another chalk piece rebounded off his tan face.

"That's not gonna fly this time. Now come on, I'll get the cleaning supplies."

The other students rushed out to spend time with their new teammates or just to eat their delicious lunches.

Team Seven wasn't off to a good start as Sasuke walked off with Sakura talking non-stop by his side while Sai stayed a couple of feet behind, watching the two with a creepy smile.

Team Eight walked off themselves with Akamaru prodding Hinata to move along while the meek girl tried to get a word with Naruto with Shino and Kiba bringing up the rear.

Team Ten unfortunately had Choji carrying Ino on his back due to the blonde Mind-Walker going through a small depression stage. Shikamaru just thought she was just being troublesome.

Naruto grumbled but did as Iruka said and came down from the third row to get started on cleaning. While sweeping up the remains of the glass, and using his ninja steps to not get anything caught in his shoes, he asked, "So why am I not on a team?"

"Well you are on a team, just not one in this classroom. Since certain Jōnin -sensei have filled out and petitioned for certain people to be on their teams, pretty much everyone has been filled up. There were only nine Jōnin for this class after all."

"So…no one wanted me on their team, huh?" the blonde asked gathering the rest of the glass, an unknown tone in his voice.

Iruka managed to pick up on it. "It's not that they didn't want you Naruto. They just had… other people they were interested in. Some of them may even have been ordered to take certain Genin."

"Really?"

"It's part of the duty we all have to do as Shinobi." Iruka stated with a shrug. "Anyway you do have a designated team. You just have to meet them after lunch at the Hokage's office."

"Jiji's office?" Naruto turned to look at the teacher with a raised eyebrow. "What's that about?"

"I'm not really sure. Originally you were lobbied to be a team with Sasuke and Sakura but it was pulled due to Hokage-sama's interference. If you want to know more, I'd suggest asking him about it."

Seeing the blonde throw the glass shards in the garbage, the scar-face Chunin gathered his things and asked, "So how was your week off training? You feel like you got any better?"

"Oh I definitely feel stronger than before." Naruto replied with a please fox-like smirk. "Heh, at this rate, I'm going to be the best in no time."

"Confidence is good but don't go overboard Naruto. People who do usually end up dead."

"Gotcha. Doesn't change the fact that I'm still good though." Naruto gave the broom and dustpan back. He was about to walk out to get some lunch/breakfast but paused at the door. His halt made Iruka turn to him in confusion.

"How's your wounds, Iruka-Sensei?"

"They're fine Naruto. It's been a week since then and I'm pretty much healed. A little tender maybe but nothing problematic." Iruka should've guessed that the former student would still be worried about his injuries. Though apparently his acting skill was pretty good since the other students were none the wiser to any changes to him.

"That's cool…" the blonde made another pause before rubbing the back of his head. "…Do you know what happened to Mizuki?"

Ah. So that's what was also bothering him. "Most likely he'll face the death penalty for his actions. I'm sorry he tried to trick you Naruto but you don't need to worry about it anymore. Mizuki's actions were his own, whatever the reasons he had. He made them and now he's paid for them most likely."

_So he doesn't know._ Naruto thought Iruka would be wary of him killing potentially slicing Mizuki into bits but it seemed that the Chūnin didn't know that much.

Well…if Jiji didn't say anything, Naruto had no reason to correct anything.

The blonde stretched his arms and turned to Iruka with a small smirk, "Hey you in the mood for lunch? I 'll treat ya to Ichiraku if you want."

"Wow, your treat. That sounds amazing." Iruka chuckled at the idea but accepted it all the same.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Hokage Tower…**_

By the time lunch was over, I was already heading to the Hokage Tower, with a spring in my step. It's always fun to hang out at Ichiraku and the food was always the best.

Though I should visit more when I start doing missions.

Walking through the halls and stairs that led to the office, I spotted the secretary Himiko and two other people, apparently girls my age, standing to the side.

"Hey Himiko-chan, is Jiji in?"

The two girls looked surprised that I would call the old man Jiji. Yet another reaction I can't seem to get enough of.

Himiko smiled at me. "That's correct, Naruto-san. You and these two young ladies here shall be meeting with Hokage-sama in a moment. He'll let me know when he's ready to receive you."

Nodding my head, I stepped over to the other two to get a good look at them.

One was a girl that was my height with short brown hair in a bagboy style. She had pale white skin with light blue eyes. From what I could tell of her hand and the outline her clothes gave, she most likely trains a lot and has a toned body.

Then I caught her eyes narrowing and knew that I had been caught checking her out. Whoops.

Her clothing looked like something a Samurai would wear just without the armor. Just a light blue Kimono with gray Hakama pants and blue Shinobi sandals. Around her neck was a blue Konoha headband.

Oh and that pretty awesome looking katana strapped to her waist. An O-style dark blue scabbard that looked to be seven inches long with a dark grey sheath.

The other girl was pretty different from the first one. She looked like slightly plump. Not exactly fat but…what's the right word? Healthy maybe? Kinda like how I used to look with that baby fat in my cheeks. The major thing that threw me off was that she had green hair.

Shaggy green hair in a single ponytail with two front bangs.

That's just….weird. She also had brown eyes that seemed to flash with question marks. Weird combination.

She had a long sleeve light red coat with a Konoha symbol on the chest and tan shorts. Blue Shinobi sandals on her feet and a pair of rubber looking gloves on her small looking hands. On her forehead was another blue Konoha headband.

…Wait a second. "Aren't you that girl that blew up part of the residential district a couple of years ago?"

"Oh come on!" She shouted raising a fist in the air. "It wasn't that bad! I didn't even have enough chakra stored in to do any major damage!"

"The explosion you made tells otherwise, Monoko-san." The sword girl quipped.

This was the new team I had to work with…meh, coulda been worse I guess.

"So anyway, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Who're you guys?"

"Kōriha Setsuna. Nice to meet you Uzumaki-san." Setsuna replied with a bow.

Ugh. Did she really need to call me –san? Doesn't feel right.

"Names Monoko Ayano. Nice to meet ya." Ayano said with a wave. "Say aren't you that crazy guy that did that Hokage Mountain job a couple of days ago?"

"Why of course not. I would never do such a thing to a sacred and great monument." Plus, no one can ever prove it thanks to my precautions.

Hehehe.

"Right~." She said with a smirk. Finally someone who gets it. Setsuna apparently did too but didn't think much of the prank given the look she gave me.

"So any idea why we're gonna be a team starting today?" I asked placing my hands behind my head.

"As I understand so far, it may just be a matter of convenience. Monoko-san, you, and I are all from different classes yet were the only ones who were not hand-selected by the Jōnin-sensei. I do not believe there is a set precedence for this situation so most likely, Hokage-sama likely has devised for us to become a team." Setsuna stated rubbing her chin.

"Seems kinda obvious when ya think about it." Ayano quipped looking around the room. Not like that was gonna be fun. I've been in this hallway so many times that I started counting the tiles.

Wonder what the last number I made it to the last time I was here?

"Hokage-sama will see you now." Himiko called from her desk. I waved bye to her as me and the two girls walked into the office.

"Hey there, Jiji." I called seeing the old man writing something down next to another pile of papers. Was there ever a time where Jiji _didn't_ have to write in this place?

"Welcome, welcome. Seeing as you three are here on time, I believe that you have some questions on this particular arrangement. Though I do believe you have already answered them, correct?"

The old man asked with a small smile.

"Because we are the only ones without a team, Hokage-sama." Setsuna replied.

"Correct. You see certain circumstances have caused me to have a direct hand in the team assignments for this term."

I hoped no one caught my flinch. Great. Me offing Mizuki is definitely the reason behind this but why Jiji chose these two to be on my team is…well its confusing.

Wait a sec. That means that me killing Mizuki also got me off Sasuke and Sakura's team.

…I should feel bad about that.

"May I ask what these circumstances are, Hokage-sama?"

"I'm afraid they pertain to confidential information. However I have read over the reports about you three and while there are many things that can be improved upon. But the biggest thing that has caught my attention is that the three of you share a common trait that amongst the rest of your classes are…slightly lacking.

And that…is quality stealth."

Huh?

"As I said, the three of you share a great strength that lies in your stealth, something that hasn't been amongst a full Genin team in a long time. As of sixteen years ago, we've mostly made due with tracking/scouting teams for intelligence gathering along with heavy assault teams for many of our combat oriented missions and for guarding not only our village but the many around Hi no Kuni.

But for the first time, we have a team that can specialize in something that is as vital as the other teams I mentioned."

This time Jiji became his other self. One moment he was the kind old man that I usually see talking to the people of the village with that friendly smile on his face. But other times, he would change. He would become cold.

His eyes.

His face.

His entire demeanor would become like ice. Much like the ANBU that stand guard in certain places in the Hokage Tower, they would remain silent and watching everything. Waiting for anything to happen and ready to strike.

"Stealth and Assassination."

Ayano gasped at the old man. Looks like out of all of us she was the most surprised that she was chosen for this part of being a Shinobi. Kinda understandable considering she doesn't look like the assassination type.

Setsuna seemed fine with it.

"I am sure that this might not come to a shock to two of you but we are after all Shinobi. Shinobi are those who cloak themselves in darkness and do many things that those that live peaceful existences in the light would feel better not knowing about.

The biggest example is dealing out death for those who hire us.

From the beginning of our history, we have taken on mission to kill those from the smallest of homes to biggest palaces. To sabotage the opposing team or the enemy because that is what is asked or needed of us.

All at the right price.

And though we of Konohagakure have painted the image of being the kindest of the Hidden Villages, we are not above these practices. For at times, to stay ahead of the game of power and prosperity, we have to do many dark things to sustain our way of life. They are not only dangerous to those that are targets but to us since during them, the chances of death are higher and failure even more so.

This type of work can go to only one group that exists in Konoha. The most trusted of my forces. The ANBU."

He stopped talking to take a drink of tea. He also most likely to let this all sink in for us. Looking out the corner of my eye, I see two different reactions.

Ayano looks shell-shocked but is trying to hold it in. I'm not sure if she'll stick around for more.

Setsuna was gripping her katana so hard, her knuckles are going white but on her face showed nothing but a blank mask. She is determined and despite all that Jiji's said, she still feels like she's ready. She's prepared to take a life if needed.

As for me…well like Setsuna I knew that I had to take lives if I wanted to continue this path.

"But that kind of thing can wait. While I believe that you three have the potential to become a part of the group, there are still many things that must be done. First for yourself and for the village.

Now are there any questions?"

The other two were overwhelmed at the idea of ANBU status. I wasn't really looking that far ahead. Really I just wanted to get crazy strong, like Jiji used to be when he was young but ANBU does sound like a good starting point.

I mean as long as it's better than those Jōnin, Chūnin, and Genin I've outran for the last few years.

Seeing as no one else said anything I decided to make the first step, "Well when do we get started Hokage-sama?"

The –**sama** (_Lord_) part was just to show professionalism and hopefully get these two back on track. It worked for seeing as the others brought their attention to me.

"I don't really know you two but I can guess that you've gone through five years of training and learning to be here. I've also done a lot of things so that I could reach this level and I can't and won't turn back now. There's still a lot I have to do and no matter what test or job is needed, I'm going to reach it.

I'm willing to go that distance. What about you?"

Setsuna took a few more seconds of looking at me before she snapped to attention and looked the old man in the eye.

"Hokage-sama I am ready and willing to do what is needed for my family and my village. My road is that of the Konoha Shinobi and I shall not deter from it. Command me as you will."

…I probably could've made a joke about that but not right now. I'll save it for later.

The last one was Ayano and she took a second to look at me and Setsuna. I don't know what she was looking for but whatever it was caused her to chuckle.

"You guys sure to do know how to inspire someone with words. Nice charisma going on there. But I get what you're saying. No where else to want to go but up and forward. I'm behind you guys all the way."

Heh. This might be better than I thought.

"While your moment of camaraderie is a good sight for this old man," we all turned to Jiji who was smiling at us. It was good to see him in a happy mood.

"I think it's finally time for you all to meet your Jōnin-sensei." He pressed a button on the intercom, telling whoever was on the outside to come in.

We turned around just as the door opened. The person who entered was…whoa.

I mean whoa. She was hot. About as hot as Aoko-Sensei was. I did not think that was possible.

The woman that entered was about as tall as I was dressed in the combat suit that I noticed were on the ANBU ninja with that dark green vest the Chūnin and Jōnin wore and a sword strapped to her back. Her heart shaped face held the look of a woman in her twenties with brown eyes, a shade of reddish purple lipstick on her supple lips.

Her dark purple hair fell to her wai—wait a sec.

Purple hair. Sword on her back. Her general shape and curviness.

I know her! She's that ANBU woman I met a few years back that I needed to run away from! Yeah she's also—also that female ANBU from last week when I fought Mizuki…

Which means she knows about my whole killing thing…

Oh crap.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

Yūgao Uzuki had mentally prepared for whatever may happen when she entered that room. She was one of the elites of Konoha and had braved many an S-rank and A-rank mission for her village and had gone through the ringer when it came to her training.

She had even served the Sandaime during his second reign as one of the few ANBU that he trusted implicitly.

This was made evident when he called her in to pull her out of her ANBU designation as Cat and have her take care of a very important asset and mission for the village. She didn't how well she would do but she would serve to the best of her ability.

"Hokage-sama will see you now, Shinobi-san." Himiko told her from her desk.

Yugao nodded and went to the door to the Kage's room. She took a breath and opened the door. Inside stood three teens of close height, hair color, and other things. She recognized Naruto easily and was relieved that he no longer bore those cold dead blue eyes from last week. He also seemed to recognize her as well if the eye movement and paling of his features meant anything.

Though he had nothing to fear. She would never reveal his personal secrets to anyone.

The other two Genin were a pair of girls who had been added to give the image of a full team. But after she was done with them, they would hopefully be a team.

Moving to stand in front of them, Yugao looked them in the eye and said, "I am Yūgao Uzuki, your Jōnin-sensei and under my command, you three shall be Team 9. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Yūgao-sensei. I'm Ayano Monoko."

"Good afternoon, Sensei. I am Setsuna Kōriha."

Setsuna and Ayano had gotten their little introductions out of the way. Now it was Naruto's turn. Unfortunately the blonde was still in a state of shock knowing that someone who had chased him when he was younger and had seen a side to himself no one else in the village, except Jiji and a couple of ANBU, knew.

So it was fine to take his less than stellar introduction as a simple mistake.

"Hello Cat-lady. I'm Naruto. Nice to see you again without the blood."

…Okay that was really bad.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

"Now then, I believe we should make a more formal introduction. So we shall go around and tell each other a bit about ourselves." Yūgao said to her new team.

The four had regrouped to a different location after Naruto's rather disastrous outburst. Luckily it was played off like he was trying to make a joke but had failed miserably. The blonde certainly had treated it like a disaster by keeping his head down the whole time the left the room.

Right now they were gathered in one of few training areas for Shinobi. In a strange twist this was also the training ground Naruto had used to practice his Fūton jutsu.

The three teens were sitting in a semi-circle in front of the purple haired woman. Naruto and Ayano sat in a relaxed state while Setsuna sat in Seiza.

"Do you wish for any general information Sensei or are certain parameters needed?" Setsuna asked.

"General information if you please. Also if there is anything else that you wish for us to know please do not be afraid to speak it now." Yūgao then reached out to Setsuna. "Why don't you start us off, Setsuna?"

The young swordswoman nodded and cleared her throat.

"I am Kōriha Setsuna. I am currently sixteen at this time. I have interests in Kenjutsu and a few other things. There are things that I have affection for but I would not like to speak of them at this time. I have a great dislike towards unprofessionalism shown in the Academy and Kiri-nin."

That bit got eyebrows raised but Setsuna continued.

"My ambition is to establish my family as a true Shinobi clan and become one of the best Swordsman Konoha has had."

"That sounds rather nice Setsuna. I am a Kenjutsu master by the way so I think we'll have much to discuss." Yūgao said with a smile.

Setsuna gave her a smile in kind.

Next up was Ayano. "Hey as you guys know, I'm Monoko Ayano. Age sixteen. I'm not as evil as it sounds. My main hobby is tinkering with Fūinjutsu and calligraphy. My likes are sweets, funny stuff, and success in Fūinjutsu. I don't like creepy stuff, dank dark places, and failures. My dream is to be a great Kunoichi so that I can defend myself while creating awesome new Fūinjutsu."

Yūgao nodded. "That field is really rare here in Konoha. I wish you luck Ayano."

"Thanks Sensei. And don't worry; I'll try to keep any explosions to a minimum for the next few months." The green haired girl said with a peace sign.

The group looked at her in silence wondering if she was serious. And then they remembered the many explosions her house had suffered in her experiments.

That one bore watching.

"And finally…" She said turning her attention to the last Genin.

Naruto had been lying back as he took in the background and what little his new teammates had said about themselves. As usual, neither seemed to know of his true heritage or his tenant and since they never interacted with him personally they knew nothing about him. Well except for his legendary delinquent status.

And their interests sorta mirrored his.

_Let's test out how this goes._

"I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, as my no doubt amazing reputation has reported." He said with a vulpine smile.

"I'm sixteen. I like Ramen, using my ninja abilities for fun activities, people that are close to me. I've got hobbies that deal with training and other stuff but that's gonna be a surprise. I don't like hypocrites, a certain group of people, and those that make others suffer. The dream that I'm working towards is becoming a powerful Shinobi and rebuilding the Uzumaki clan."

That brought Yūgao attention. He had made it clear that while he liked people in the village, he had no love for the village itself. That was understandable considering his time here but she hoped that could be fixed with time.

_Especially considering he's the son of the Yondaime. I have to fix this._

Though there was a part of his introduction that peeked her curiosity, "Do you mean to say that you are a descendent of this clan Naruto?"

"Yup. My mom was a member and even a Konoha Shinobi. I'm pretty sure you've heard of her. Red Head. First name was Kushina. Powerful in Fūinjutsu. Major ass-kicker of any unfortunate SOB that stood in her way. Made a habit of dancing in the blood of her enemies?"

Yūgao sweat dropped. While the first four were right in line in what she remembered of Kushina Uzumaki—especially the fourth part since many who were now Jōnin or ANBU remembered the beatings she gave the enemy or to them in spars—the last one was just a myth someone made up.

That didn't stop the crazy woman from using it to her advantage...

Seeing her other two students were looking quite spooked at the blonde's jest, not knowing which was fact or myth, the purple haired woman cleared her throat and decided to dispel some of their misconceptions. "Yes. I remember your mother well. I even managed to work under her during the Third Shinobi War. She was amazing at Kenjutsu and, as you said, Fūinjutsu."

"Oh? Do you also study the Sword arts, Uzumaki-san?" Setsuna piped up upon hearing about the Kenjutsu.

"Call me, Naruto. And I don't really know about swords. I use this little guy." Naruto then pulled out Kyuutsuki's sheath from his back.

He unsheathed it for the brown haired girl's inspection.

"It looks well made. I would like a spar with you sometime." Setsuna said with interest in her tone.

"Wait a sec." Ayano said bring the attention back to her. "If you're from a clan how come we didn't hear about it in school? Or you're Mom either?"

The blonde just smiled at that. It was a strange one, like he was holding something back. "Well my clan was apparently masters at Fūinjutsu but it got their country and village destroyed before Konoha could do anything to help. A lot of people seem to have forgotten about them or tried really to make them not exist anymore. My Mom's apparently been included in that.

He then smirked wickedly.

"I plan to make them remember."

The three women shivered at the Uzumaki's tone. They had a feeling that when he did bring about word of the Uzumaki clan, there was going to be much to pay.

_Especially if he learns of Kumo's attempts on his Mother. _Yūgao thought with another shiver.

"By the way," Naruto brought them out of their fear moment but his attention was fixed on the ANBU turned Sensei, "How come you couldn't tell who my Mom was? Shouldn't my amazing personality have rung a bell?"

"I was told a different reason as to why you have that name. I am sorry I hadn't realized it sooner." She said with the good grace to look embarrassed for her folly. Great not only was she training the son of the Village's savior—hell the kid's whole family were the villages' saviors—but now she had the bearer of an extinct clan as well.

The Sandaime really asked for amazing favors.

She then snuck a glance at her other two students. This discussion was getting too close to talking about the Kyūbi and the Law concerning the subject was still in effect.

"Well then I believe it is my turn to formally introduce myself."

The students nodded to her suggestion. Good.

"Well I am Uzuki Yūgao. My likes are swords, my boyfriend Hayate who I train in Kenjutsu with, and sword training. My hobbies are studying the many quality swords in existence and Moon gazing. I dislike rapists, people who don't care for their swords and Kunoichi who don't take their profession seriously."

She then smiled beautifully at her new charges.

"And my newfound ambition is to help make you all the best you can be. So I expect many things from you all."

The three new Genin smiled back. Naruto was especially surprised at how well things were going. Jiji really had pulled through with this one so far.

Now for the next part.

"So what do we do now? Is there another test we have to go through?" He asked.

His question surprised Yūgao. "Well yes there is but so far none of the current Genin has ever made that assumption. How did you guess it?"

"Let's just say a Panda made me suspicious."

In a certain weapons shop, the owner's daughter sneezed and felt the strongest need to bury at least twenty shuriken into something yellow.

"Well anyway, there is one more test you have to take. I have to evaluate your skills here and now to determine if you are truly ready to be Genin. If that is not the case then, I will have you sent back to the Academy for another year." The woman's words had taken a sterner tone as she folded her arms and looked down at the three teens.

"Not gonna happen." Naruto said hopping to his feet. He was no longer smiling. "I've got too much to do to get sent back."

"I'm afraid the same goes for me as well." Setsuna spoke as she rose gripping her sword, her eyes narrowed in cold determination.

Ayano also stood up and gave her neck a small crack. "So how do ya want to do this, Sensei?"

"Since we have time we can get started now. In this spar, you have to come at me as if you want to kill me. Any objections?" The three shook their heads in negative. "Then let's begin."

At those words, Naruto jumped the gun.

_Fast!_ Yūgao thought as she blocked an incoming punch to her stomach. She then went on to block a few more punches before she retaliated with a sweep kick that dropped Naruto to his side. The blonde managed to get back up before he was dealt a stomp and land a few feet away.

Not ending things there, Naruto made a cross-shape with his fingers and said, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**

With a puff of smoke, five figures jumped out and attacked Yūgao.

Moving quickly, the Kunoichi threw a few shuriken to dispel the numbers. However she didn't expect two clones to grab their counterparts and pull them out of harm's way but the fifth one was hit which caused it to dispel.

_Such good coordination! And yet he's only had the technique for a week. _

She then got another surprised when the two clones holding the others began two spins and threw their brethren at her!

_The spins have caused them to increase speed. If I block that, the damage may be more than what I wish to take. I must dodge!_

And dodge she did by rushed forward and ducking under the speeding clones. On reflex, she drew her katana and with one swipe, cut them across their mid-sections.

_Three down. Two to go._

Her danger sense flashed so the purple haired woman took another swipe and cut the last two clones before they could grab onto her. However it seemed that they were not the ones who set off her senses since they were still flashing. Not wanting to take the chance by staying in one space, Yūgao poured chakra into her legs and used the Shunshin to move away just as her ears picked up the sound of a blade moving through the air.

When the move was done, Yūgao found herself a bit far from the training area. _I moved a bit too far._

Wanting to find her incoming student, she raised her hand in a snake seal and slowed her heart rhythm. Following that she began to raise her chakra and release it into the ground allowing her see wherever the chakra went for a few seconds. Using it, she found small thumps moving towards her from the back along with hints of a small but noticeable dark ball of chakra.

_Found you. _Now having a clear idea of where Naruto was, she spun around to face him with her sword held next to her face.

Naruto appeared from the trees but was forced to skid to a halt when he saw that his sneak attack had somehow been found out. Now staring back at her, the Uzumaki assumed his own stance with his tanto also held close to his face in a right-side back hand stance with his left hand raised toward her.

The two stared each other down. In the background a few small strands of purple hair drifted through the air.

"You're quite light on your feet." Yūgao commented.

_He was able to sneak behind me earlier and if I hadn't used my sensor ability just now, he may have claimed another hit! I'm ANBU so I should've been able to pick him up when he entered my kill zone._

_Just how long as Naruto been able to sneak around that easily?_

Naruto smiled at her. "Thanks for that. Being able to move around like this has saved my life many times in this place."

He noticed her twitch at the mention of his mistreatment and decided to add one more thing.

"I actually meant when it came from threats from the outside. You guys are really laid back when it comes to security."

Yūgao tensed. He couldn't be suggesting people have broken in before could he?

Naruto didn't explain further as he once again moved fast enough to get close to her kill area but seeing as she was ready for him this time.

_CLANG!_

The sound of tanto meeting Katana rang throughout the field. The two were at a cross-sword trying to get the other to fall to their strength.

Naruto, being closer due to his shorter weapon and speed, tries to use those two points and his won physical strength to gain the upper hand. However with Yūgao's slightly taller height and her own physical prowess from training and experience this attempt was stalemated.

Then Naruto attempted an uppercut. Yūgao dodges this and spins around to deliver a strengthened back fist that strikes Naruto on the face.

Running with the pain as best as he can, Naruto attempts a stabbing thrust which manages a cut on Yūgao left side.

The woman flinches but just like Naruto, she works through the pain.

Then the dance of blades began again.

_Swoosh._

_Clank. Clank._

Another thrust attempted but ultimately missed. An overhead Katana strike is blocked. So is a side swipe.

_Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank._

_Clank. Skirtch._

A few more traded strikes before Naruto makes one more strike. He then shoves forward skidding his tanto on Yūgao's blade.

Seeing as he is close enough, Naruto whispers one word.

"**Sensa."**

In an instant, Naruto's muscles tense up and he strikes. His arm becomes near invisible as he strikes at his teacher.

As a second goes by, the attack ends and Naruto hops away.

But to his shock, it was not the Jōnin that he attempted to cut but a log.

"Ah, dammit."

However something on the log caught his attention. For just a second he could've sworn that he sa—

_**BAM!**_

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

Yūgao didn't need to look back to know that her flash bomb had gone off. She was too busy getting her beating heart back to a normal rhythm.

That move that Naruto managed to use—Sensa if she wasn't mistaken—was insane. Able to forgo human limitation and just do so much in such a _very_ short timespan. The minute he called on the attack, she received a shiver from her instincts that only came when she spared against Maito Gai, a fellow Jōnin who specializes in Taijutsu.

He's also an absolute Beast when it comes to the power and Speed of his fists, making him one of the few people to contend with Hatake Kakashi in terms of power.

_The crazy bastard also destroys me whenever we had a spar. _Yūgao thought grimly, remembering the bruises and much needed rest she needed after those spars. Though it did allow her to sponge a lot of sympathy from Hayate.

Checking her side, she saw that there was a thin trail of blood leaking. She grimaced. Looks like there was still a lot more to Naruto than what he showed last week.

Quickly going through some hand seals, she called out, "**Shōsen** _(Mystical Palm)_."

With her hands now glowing green, Yūgao pressed her hand to her side. Using the technique, she speed up her bodies natural healing and in a matter of seconds, the wound was closed.

With that out of the way, she felt that she had spent enough time with Naruto. Plus he should be blind for a short time anyway. Time to check on her other students.

Using a Shunshin, Yūgao reappeared at the training ground. However it was devoid of anyone. However there were certain sections of the ground that seemed to be disturbed or buried. Most likely the place of booby traps.

_They took the time to hide and most likely set traps for when I returned from dealing with Naruto. Good planning._

However that wouldn't deter Yūgao. Using her sensor ability once more, she detected two chakra sources, one minor most likely mid Genin level while the other was stronger denoting High Genin to possible Chūnin level.

Well it was time to bring the fight to them.

Sneaking to their position didn't even take a full five minutes and soon she was in a tree overlooking the two who seemed to be lying in wait. Setsuna had a tight grip on her sword while Ayano had one hand in a shuriken pouch and the other clenching a Kunai.

Seeing as she was in a better place, she decided to play a small game with the two. "You two seem to be quite stressed but I haven't even done anything to you…yet."

Her voice made Setsuna jump to her feet and shake her head around looking for any sign of their Sensei, her hands close to becoming white from her grip. Ayano looked like she wanted to run. For some reason seeing them behave like frightened rabbits brought a small smile to her face. Yūgao would blame her association with Anko Mitarashi for this.

"I have tested Naruto's mettle but I will reserve judgment till I test you two. Now then…which one of you should I go for first?"

Setsuna turned in her general direction. "I shall meet that challenge Sensei."

_Well someone is pretty brave or is this just a ploy to get her rather terrified partner out of the way of danger? Either way I should respond._

Hopping down from her spot, she took three steps forward. This time she made noise loud enough for Setsuna to turn a mere few scant inches to her left. The younger girl swiftly moved to stand between her and Ayano.

Ayano took this as a hint to jump back a few feet. Most likely to either retreat or provide support.

_But I can get to her later._ Focusing on Setsuna, Yūgao moved into her sword stance. "Let's see how your sword moves."

Setsuna did the same and narrowed her blue eyes. That was all the answer needed.

Silence fell upon the two Kenjutsu users as they prepared for the first move to be made. The wind blew through the forest making the trees leaves shake. It carried the extra effect of raising Yugao's waist-length hair into the air well up to her shoulders while Setsuna's shorter hair made small hairlines cross her vision.

Somehow there was a mental countdown going on but it was quickly coming to an end.

Three. Two. One.

Both moved and once more the challenge was met with steel.

_**Clank!**_

Both blades met each other. The younger challenger bit back a grimace as she realizes that her strength was not up to the same as the older woman's. She made up for this with her next strike.

_That was fast._ Yūgao thought as she wasted no time in changing her tempo to match her new opponent. _Not as fast as Naruto's but pretty close to Chūnin level speed._

The Uzuki Jōnin was really impressed. If she didn't have to take the full team she would've liked this girl as an apprentice. There were so few Kenjutsu practioneers in Konoha and having more serious Kunoichi would be a plus in her book.

_She must have trained everyday at her own leisure since the Academy doesn't teach Kenjutsu. _This was something Yūgao never understood. She would have to talk to Hokage-sama about certain points in the Academy Curriculum if good Kenjutsu students were going to fall behind a good calling just because it wasn't available.

She managed to dodge another quick strike that managed to remove a few hairs from her head. Okay she was seriously underestimating these kids and if she didn't get her act to together she'd never hear the end of it.

So with that in mind, she decided to go on the offensive.

_Swoosh._

_Clank! Clank! Clank!_

_Whoosh._

After another minute of trading blows, it became apparent that the young girl was now on the defensive. Her overhead strike blocked before it could be swung down. Two side swipes dodged before a block was needed to defend against a close hit to the leg. A feint was luckily not followed through because it would've ended in a swift defeat.

While she still had the speed to block to strikes, Setsuna could no longer attack as she wished and she was moving slower. She was now on her Sensei's movement and soon she would lose.

Needing a chance to recover her rhythm, Setsuna tried to move back and gain some distance. However she misjudged a step and tripped falling to her back. Before she could recover, Yūgao was standing over her with a sword aimed at her face.

"I assume you've learned from your parents?" She asked. Setsuna nodded but glared back seeing as she was held down at the moment.

"You have a good form. Good balance and speed but not much in the ways of power. Plus you tend to follow a certain rhythm that reminds me of the Swordsmen of the Mist."

Yūgao saw the girl's teeth clench with a growl and narrowed eyes. She had hit a sore spot. What could have happened that made this girl dislike Kiri-nins so much?

Setsuna took the moment to swipe her blade prompting Yūgao to move back instead of meeting it. The girl then rose to her feet and charged for another round of swordplay, which Yūgao answered in turn.

However as the match continued she noticed that Setsuna's hits were trying to become harder and the girl was starting to breathe faster. Her stamina was running low and she was making it worse with her angered strikes.

This made the older woman mentally shake her head. She had figured Setsuna to be more level headed than to rush into anger. Though this could be attributed to her mention of Kiri, she didn't think the girl would just fly at the handle at the mere mention of it.

Well the more you learn.

Her answer did not come because the Kōriha moved her blade an—

_TINK!_

_What?!_ Yūgaoflinched and jumped away. _What was that flash?! It couldn't have been the sun flashing from her sword. There was a feel of chakra in it. Must be a Genjutsu._

Thankfully it was a rather short one. Not five seconds later when it looked like the white glare had finally receded. Unfortunately the purple haired woman felt a great sting in her shoulder but bit back a scream and jumped away once more.

Looking at her shoulder, she noticed the bleeding scar. Turning to Setsuna she saw a small trail of blood leaking on her sword and a small twitch of the girl's lips that betrayed hints of excitement and joy.

"**Senkou Oda** (_Flash Strike_)." The Samurai-like Ninja spoke before fixing her face so that she looked stoic yet frowning once more. She resumed her stance.

"First blood is mine, Yūgao-sensei."

Someone feels good about themselves over one good hit. Though that one good hit could mean the line between life and death, getting excited over that one thing could lead to trouble.

So Yūgao decided to teach her a lesson. When the girl overextended on an overhead strike, the former ANBU gave her a small cut on her right arm.

"And now I've repaid that fir—"She stopped when she saw that what had dripped off the girl's arm had not been blood at all.

_Water? __**Mizu Bunshin**__ (Water Clone)!_

Not wanting to get hit by another sneak attack, Yūgao did the sensible thing and used the Kawamiri to escape.

Smart thing too since the ground she was just standing on suddenly lit up in a flash of light. It was safe to say the Bunshin did not make it.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

_**Earlier…**_

Setsuna had watched Uzumaki engage their Jōnin-sensei in hand to hand. The tactic was the most idiotic she had ever heard. A mere Genin taking on a Jōnin?

There would be no contest.

That was her thoughts…before she saw that Uzumaki was showing his good skill at Taijutsu. While Yūgao was easily able to dodge the hits, the speed of which she did so meant that the blonde was close to her level. When she went on the offensive however, Naruto had used a Jutsu the Kōriha had not expected.

A true physical clone. Something that was far more advanced than the simple Bunshin taught in the Academy.

Setsuna had been shocked to see the Blonde fight. If she had to guess, the speed of his Taijutsu could be from High Genin to Chūnin. And when he used those clones to trick the former ANBU and get in close.

Nothing short of amazing.

But Setsuna was not here to watch to efforts of someone else. She was here to prove her worth. And now that Uzumaki had distracted their teacher it was time for her to do her part.

"Hey, Setsuna." A small voice whispered.

Setsuna turned to see Ayano behind a tree. "What is it, Monoko-san?"

"Wanna team up against Sensei?" The question made the swords girl raise an eyebrow in confusion. "What? Two heads are better than one and I don't know about you but I wanna get this over with. I can move around for a while but sooner or later I might tire out. Better to finish this up in one blow."

"Hm." Well the green haired girl had a point. Individually Setsuna knew she didn't stand a chance but with some trickery and backup…

"Yes I believe this can work. What skill can you do to aid me?"

"That depends. Can you get her to a certain spot?" She asked back while fidgeting with her coat pockets.

* * *

_**~KYUUTSUKI~**_

This brings things back to an empty field with the scorch marks of a previously activated Fūinjutsu trap.

"Dangit! Curse the log and Kawamiri for its awesome use." Ayano grumbled as she dug through her coat for another scroll.

"That trap of yours looked quite strong Ayano-san." Though she was speaking, Setsuna kept her gaze moving through the field for any hint of her teacher. Though she had managed to switch herself with a Mizu Bunshin thanks to the stream and let it take her place, she was mentally kicking herself. She had almost doomed their plan with her anger.

She should be through with such thinking and controlling herself better. It had been years since…

Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. Thinking about that now would only lead to further trouble. There was a battle to be fought here and now.

"What was that if I may ask?"

"**Kibaku Shokku Fudan** (_Exploding Shock Tag_). I learned about it from the exploding tag and decided to make it shoot out electricity instead. Thought it would help for capturing. Took a couple of years to make though."

Ayano replied as she managed to find three more tags.

"Ugh, maybe I should just use one more. It's gonna be a pain to restock."

"And the Teacher's allowed this? If I'm not mistaken, Academy students are only taught the Generic Sealing."

"I got a pass when I proved I was good at it." Ayano said as she took out a Kunai.

"Well it certainly shows. But now Sensei knows our plans. We need a new strategy."

"Mind if I cut into this?"

The two girls jumped at the voice and looked around to see where it came from, Setsuna gripping her sword and ready to slice someone.

"Up here." The voice said in amusement.

The two looked up to see none other than Naruto sitting upon the tree. Setsuna was not amused by his behavior but calmly asked, "How long have you been up there, Uzumaki-san?"

"Once again, it's Naruto. Uzumaki-san makes me sound old and just a couple of minutes. Nice job on the sneak attack on Sensei by the way.

Clones and explosions. A cool combination. I need to look into that."

For some reason, there as a collective fear ingrained in Konoha that day.

"Anyway," the blond hopped off the tree to stand before the two girls, "I'm here to help with the next plan."

"Oh? I had assumed that you would've handled things better on your own?" Setsuna quipped.

"What? I jumped the gun from being anxious." Naruto shrugged, not apologetic but willing to admit he may have overdone it.

"Besides a few more clones might be a big help to plan right?"

"Yeah! That sounds awesome!" Ayano said, her mind coming up with new ideas for traps.

"Yes. Your clones would be a great boon…"

_Shink!_

"If you can prove you are who you say you are." She said narrowing her eyes while her katana was raised to Nartuo's neck.

"Whoa Setsuna a bit much don't ya think?" However the Monoko did raise her kunai in preparation to attack.

"Hehe uh, can we talk about this?" The worried blonde said with his hands raised.

"As I said can you prove who you say you are? I have not forgotten about the Henge and we have not heard anything from either Sensei or Naruto for sometime." The blade was moved closer. "Now…are you going to show me some proof or am I to claim second blood?"

The person before them was quiet for a few seconds before he shrugged and said, "I once peaked on the Kunoichi of our year and got the blame for it pinned on some guy."

…

The words were so out there that Ayano could only blink in shock and confusion.

Setsuna however decides to take her blade in both hands in order to do some sort of harm to the Uzumaki. _Even if it is the real one, I cannot accept such idiocy. _

"Well be confused no more." Another voice popped up before another Naruto appeared behind the first with his tanto drawn and moved it so that it could easily pierce a major organ.

"Cause I'm Naruto…and I didn't peek on anyone."

"I was wondering where you were, Naruto. I am getting annoyed about how you keep sneaking up on me though." The held down Naruto spoke before a puff of smoke revealed it to be Yūgao with her hands raised.

"I'm just that great." Naruto glibly replied. "Now I think this test is over, don't you Sensei?"

"Well you have performed well in this test. Naruto has a good grasp on speed and stealth. Setsuna's Kenjutsu training is to a well-developed level along with quick thinking with that Genjutsu. And Ayano certainly shows she has Fūinjutsu skill and her collaboration with Setsuna showed good teamwork and trap skills.

However…"

_Crash!_

Three hands burst from the ground and clamp on the three teenagers ankles.

"Wha—tebay—?!"

"Undergoun—?!"

"Oh Crap—!"

Soon all three were dragged down and buried up to their necks in earth. All three began to struggle to get loose but stopped when the sound of swords being unsheathed caught up with them. And to their horror, they saw three copies of Yūgao standing over them with their swords aimed at their necks.

"…Well crap. We screwed up badly didn't we?" Ayano deadpanned despite the sweat dripping off her head from having a sword so close.

"Well I wouldn't say screwed up." A voice said from overhead. Another Yūgao dropped down from the trees, a professional mask of stoicism on her face.

"You just got distracted."

She then made a hand sign and the doppelgangers changed from to full body brown color and dissolved into mud. The three buried teens made a mental note to call them **Doton Kage Bunshin (**_Earth Release Shadow Clone)._

"Now as I mentioned before about discussing your skills, I gave you compliments all around and I mean them. However, that doesn't mean you are without your faults.

"Naruto, you charged in an attempt overwhelm me without another plan of attack. While you did succeed in knocking me off my game, that sort of tactic won't work on everyone. And while your speed and strength were fine for the moment, when I took you by surprise, it took awhile for you to come back.

Setsuna you jumped in at an opportune time to defend a comrade but your stamina needs work for prolonged battles especially those that value strength the most. Plus do not think I didn't notice the anger in your strikes when I mentioned Kiri. That was a dangerous and stupid move and it shall not happen again.

Ayano…you only provided that trap while good, you will need to plan for more than just one good bomb. Supporting the others is fine but your own skills must be better if you wish to live long."

All three grimaced at her scolding.

"However…"

All three looked back up as Yūgao smiled at them.

"…You all have skills to be great individually and as a team while you have awhile to go you are beginning to come together as one. What starts with just Setsuna and Ayano can grow to all three of you using your individual talents into something amazing.

Overall I see no reason not to make this team official and I have no problems leading. From this moment on, Team Nine is officially formed. I look forward to working with you three."

Silence stretched for a few seconds until—

"YES!" Naruto and Ayano shouted with a jump into the air. They also clapped their hands in a high five before breaking out into a sort of jump dance much like toddlers.

Setsuna smiled brightly at the decision before sputtering when she was brought into a small dance with the other two. Even if she wanted to be released she decided to let it go just this one time.

Yūgao smiled at the interaction. There were still small hurdles to go through and many things that needed to be solved but for now, she could let the team act like the teens they were and bask in their moment.

She did feel like she was going to step up her small medical skills though. With Ayano's explosion based Fūinjutsu and Naruto and Setsuna's shared love of cutting things, there was bound to be a lot more injuries than a few cuts.

She'd talk to Ayano about her explosion problem.

Chapter 5 end

Arc 1: Maelstrom Konoha End

And that ends the first arc of Kyuutsuki. I would like to give a special thanks to **Culaio** who has been the go to guy for Type-moon talks and **Naruto-Junkey** for his work in Beta.

This feels me up with joy to see the first part over and done. Now we get to the next part of the story and soon the action will begin.

**Next time**

_Days once more go by and turn to weeks._

_Team Nine begins to draw close._

_However when a higher ranked mission calls_

_The true test of mettle begins._

_The Fire Capitol calls_

_Despite the dark shadows it casts._

_**Kyuutsuki no Uzumaki**_

_**Arc 2: Capitol Crimes**_

_**Chapter 6: Climb to the Top**_


	6. AJ Note

Good news…and bad news everyone. I've recently written down the last three arcs for Kyuutsuki no Uzumaki.

What I mean by that is that while I do have ideas and such going past the Wave Arc? and the inevitable Tsukihime plot points, I've decided to branch things off and cut them off at certain points.

For this purpose, Kyuutsuki 1 will end around chaps 10-18. The Chunin Exams will be a divergence that would be continued in a sequel fic.

I will go into more detail about this in my blog. I just wanted you guys to know before I go away for a certain amount of time. Not that I'm going away, I'm still going to be around and reading some good fanfics but I do want to work on other things.

AJ Katon out.


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